Anti-Trump protesters got the space seemingly unopposed, as all the MAGA meatheads seem to be busy in Texas at Eagle Pass

Photos by Our Rights DC.

On the 5th of February, University of S Florida’s Tampa campus SDS chapter held a protest demanding the university divest from Israeli genocide. Protesters also demanded the US stop bombing Yemen and stop sending military aid to Israel.

The protest was small but USF-Tampa has become notorious for police violence against protesters. Notably, this was where the Tampa 5 case originated in a storm of police brutality. It takes courage to sail into the teeth of such a storm, to stand forth against real risk to say NO to genocide. This goes doubly so with all of the proposals for charging out of state tuition, reporting students to Homeland Security, and possibly more spewing from the sewer that is DeathSantis’s mouth and pen.

Also note that this is just one of a great many protests being held nationally by SDS as part of a Feb 5-11 week of action for Palestine. National demands are “Stand with Palestine, Hands off Yemen, End US Aid to Israel.” This is but the first of many such protests

On the 1st of February, protesters supporting the defense of Gaza from Israel’s genocidal war held a car caravan to Orlando International Airport.

As always, Critical Mass Orlando was a beautiful festival of hundreds of riders on bikes, e-bikes, scooters, and more taking the streets as is their right every day. This is a social ride as much as anything, riding the last Friday of every month from Orlando Loch Haven Park.

I sooo hope this is not our last peacetime ride, given the ugly mess in Texas. As I left the ride, I passed a lit-up “crystals” art exhibit that had been in DC for the Dec 2016 DC Bike Party, then as now having been a time of great menace. Major deja vu with that.

Allison Bailey shot this photo of the New Columbia Movement (Christian nationalists) at the big forced-birth march I prefer to call the “March4Death” on Jan 19 in Washington DC. Didn’t see it on the day of because I am not on Instagram, someone sent it to me directy.

Here they are attacking contraception, having as predicted moved on from abortion. One trench is taken, the next trench comes under fire.

On the 20th of January, the annual Women’s March events took to the streets again. This time, the main event was out West but many cities including DC had events as well. In DC the event was bottomlined by the community activists of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams.

A bit past halfway through the startup rally on Freedom Plaza, fetus-stealing PAAU (so-called “Progessive Anti-Abortion Uprising”) tried to steal the show. They invaded the Plaza with bullhorns but didn’t have the numbers to seriously challenge Harriet’s Wildest Dreams.

Notably, PAAU (best known for stealing fetuses from clinics to baptize and bury) was calling abortion “murder,” which is tantamount to a call for executing women who get underground abortions. One of the speakers from Harriet’s Wildest Dreams recounted having had a miscarriage and pointed out that Black women are already being sent to jail and prison over miscarriages under a variety of racist and misogynistic laws.

PAAU attempted to hassle the front of the march all the way to the White House, but their bullhorns lacked the sound power for that job. On 15th st, a second group of counterprotesters had been lying in wait like infantry in an ambush. On seeing the march they opened up with bagpipes, in the process insulting and fouling rather nice musical instruments. Both groups followed the march into the White House but were heavily outnumbered.

Both at Freedom Plaza and at the White House, the counterprotesters were in turn counter-counter protested.

One of the counterprotesters (at end of video) turned out to be a known J6 (Capitol Insurrection) participant. The men among them were called out as being men trying to tell women what do with their bodies.

On the 19th of January, the so-called “March4Life” marched on the Supreme Court in Washington DC. Both on the Mall and at the Supreme Court they faced solo or paired counterprotesters with loud bullhorns. On the Mall, cops removed them but at SCOTUS they were able to stay put.

Some of the lowlights of the march were “Make more Babies” signs carried by a number of marchers, and the appearance of the Christian Nationalist group “New Columbia Movement.” They met up with Patriot Front, but here the crowd drew a line.

Citing the fact that Patriot Front was at Charlottesville (as American Vanguard) other forced-birth marchers jeered them. As the march began, they threw in the towel and left: a few (presumably Rousseau and his top henchment) by a rented U-haul truck and the rest by Red Line Metro. They got off at Shady Grove.

Also present were signs supporting the “White Rose Resistance” a name associated in the past with clinic bombing, and other signs mentioning guns or with variations on the Gasden (rattlesnake) flag. These imply potential militia activity around abortion.

On the 18th of DC, a covert action team sucessfully entered the “March4Life expo” staged by organizers of the next day’s big march for forced birth and fetal personhood. Fliers were left in strategic locations, and stickers applied where they were sure to be seen.

There were many examples of extremism on display inside, notably someone boasting about having been conceived through rape.

As for “pro life,” this was a big indoor unmasked event during the annual winter covid and flu surge in DC.

On the day before the annual forced-birth march in Washington DC, antiabortion extremists netted a very tiny turnout of maybe a dozen or so at the White House. They did also attract a counterprotester.

Tomorrow, it is supposed to snow all day on the forced-birther’s main event.