On the 16th of February, Texas and West Louisiana residents threatened by LNG projects and pipelines showed up at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC is infamous as the oil and gas industry’s rubber stamp, and is now planning to allow Freeport LNG to restart their Texas LNG export facility that exploded less than a year ago in June 2022.
Freeport residents found out about the proposed LNG plant restart when FERC gave them one week’s notice of a hearing to “consider” Freeport LNG’s application for “phase 1” restart. This sort of hearing is almost always a circus and a scam. Residents are allowed to vent for a minute or two after hearing usually an hour or two of propaganda for the project, and these hearings are almost always after a decision to approve the project has been made. This fake hearing model is used throughout the US, at the Federal, state, and local level for almost all major projects
Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) has been hosting these “Frontlines to FERC” events cooinciding with FERC’s monthly board meetings. With three new US LNG export plants now in the pipeline so to speak plus the Freeport situation, FERC is likely to soon get more of the sort of attention they got from pro-Earth and community defense advocates they got from about 2012 though 2016. The three new proposed LNG export plants are Sempra Energy’s Port Arthur plant in Texas, Energy Transfer LP’s Lake Charles in Louisiana and NextDecade Corp’s Rio Grande in Texas.
(longer video is one of the holdouts who was later arrested temporarily backing the cops down with constitutional arguments)
In recent months, McPherson Square had hosted a tent city set up by those evicted by Mayor Bowser’s sweeps of so many other camps. On Feb 15, US Park Police and biohazard-suited trash collectors Stormed McPherson and destroyed the tent city, evicting everyone and arresting two people who stood their ground.
This date was moved up from April 15 at the request of the usual anti-unhoused, racist and classist real estate and upscale business interests who control the Mayor and the city government. The date was moved no doubt because wealthy and middle class office workers etc were afraid to eat their lunch in McPherson Square. That would be the “imminent hazard” city officials were yakking about. A real imminent hazard now exists: many former residents of the McPherson Sq tent city lost their tents and everything they owned, and cold, heavy rain is due to arrive in DC on Thursday night.
This is also the second time a tent city in McPherson Square has been violently assaulted by police. On Feb 4, 2012 US Park Police stormed Occupy DC’s camp at the same site, sparking a tough all day battle as Occupy residents fought back.
On the 11th of February, the neo-Nazi group the Goyim Defense League (GDL), threw trash propaganda onto people’s lawns and driveways in Lakeland, FL. The fliers were in bags weighted with corn and with rat food pellets, similar to incidents of KKK flyering where sand was sued to weigh the flyers down.The fascists live-streamed themselves bagging and distributing the fliers, giving antifascist activists in nearby Tampa and Orlando all the information they needed to clean up the trash. A cleanup crew arrived and quickly removed fliers from one polluted area, but due to highly fash-friendly police, a complete sweep wasn’t possible.
Afterwards there was the problem of what to do with GDL’s trash. The bags of damp corn and rat food were dropped into a trash can, and the flyers were fed to the hungry and cleansing flames of a propane torch.Nazi litterbugs are not welcome in Lakeland or anywhere else!
On the 9th of February, the fight against Atlanta’s “Cop City” police training range proposed for the Weelaunee Forest again came to DC. Protesters marched on Cox Enterprises (owner of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper), and on Wells Fargo(a major funder of the project) with just one demand: Drop Cop City!
We cannot forget the sacrifice of forest defender Tortuguita (“Tort”) who gave their life in defense of the Weelaunee Forest on Jan 18, 2023. They were murdered by Atlanta Police in a blizzard of gunfire that day. Bodycamera footage shows four spaced shots followed by a blitz of rapid fire, then a cops saying “you fucked up your own officer” referring to the cop wounded in the guts by another cop’s bullet.
Even with the National Guard backing up heavy militarized police, activists are still holding out in the forest, vowing to defend the woods whatever the price may be. From March 4 to 11, another national week of action in the forest has been called for. Reinforcements are always needed.
Photo by Shut Down DCPhoto by Extinction Rebellion DC
On the 7th of February, Biden gave his annual State of the Union address, with barely a mention of abortion or trans rights. On the motorcade route outside, Our Rights DC held down, demanding that the ongoing state of emergency (which allows for Federal assistance) for covid not be lifted. Also there was talk after Dobbs of declaring a public health emergency over restrictions on abortion killing women, so abortions could be performed on military bases etc in abortion ban states.
Demanding that multiple ongoing public health emergencies continue to be recognized (photo by Our Rights DC) Between the aftermath of the failed J6 coup attempt and the ongoing far-right insurgency in the US, the Capitol Police were not taking half measures.(Photo by Our Rights DC)
On the 6th of February, Ga cops launched yet another raid on the Weelaunee Forest, which is defended by Atlanta Forest Defense/Stop Cop City To this date no raid has succeeded in clearing and holding the site in spite of bullshit “domestic terrorism” charges and the murder of forest defender Tortuguita on Jan 18.
All these attacks have done is earn the cop city contractors and bankers a storm of fires, smashfests, and a powerful stink bomb attack that may have permanently put an Atlas Technical Consultants office out of service.
There is now now way the police and military can win this without triggering open-ended vertical and horizontal escalation affecting every other dispute the Left is fighting over in the US. If the violence and brutality of armed police and troops in the Weelaunee Forest, continue, this fight could even be the flash point that detonates everything else.
On the 5th of February, the American Indian Movement (AIM) backed by local activists protested at the Federal courthouse in Tampa, FL demanding that Leonard Peltier be freed from prison.
Several key points were made at this rally:
1: All evidence says Leonard Peltier cannot have been the shooter that took out those two FBI invaders on Pine Ridge, though much of this evidence has been deliberatly destroyed
2:Whoever DID shoot those FBI agents is protected under international law same as any other soldier of any other sovereign nation firing on armed invaders.
3: No way the US and the oil industry would have dared to push something like DAPL through Standing Rock in 1976 or so due to the strength of AIM (American Indian Movement)
On the 4th of February, several members of the same extreme-right Christian cult that harassed the Dec 29 Clearwater drag show turned up at Pasco County FL’s Pride event. They harassed Pride attendees and screamed that people were going to die, going to burn, and going to Hell. Eventually one of them lunged at a child attending Pride with their parents, drawing instant counterattack. One of them was tackled and all of them were driven back. Event security surrounded them, assisted by activists and other community members. Due to the extreme nature of their offense the Pasco County Sheriff’s Dept escorted them out but they were not arrested.
Had they been LGBTQ folks or anarchists disrupting a Fundamentalist church’s service they would have been arrested and quite likely subject to physical brutality at police hands. The same cult also attacks Jewish events and has been responsible for cancellations of miltiple events, which is grounds to consider them Nazis as well as dangerous religious extremists.
Firing the big-bore “bubble cannon” at the fascists, foaming them down like so much burning jet fuel on an airport runway
The 4th of February was a national day of action against police brutality. In Tampa, FL protesters gathered near near Joe Chullia courthouse in Tampa, FL. SDS and Community Action Coalition were there, speakers covered subjects from the infamous Memphis “SCORPION” unit to “Biking while Black” harassment stops in Tampa.
Note that Porsche sells extremely expensive performance cars. The slashed tires and spray paint will no doubt be repaired, but Porsche fans may object to paying new car prices for these salvage cars. If they have to be sold as used cars, this dealer pays a HUGE price for Porsche’s Cop City Funding! No more bullshit, people are sick of half measures on this issue after the Jan 18 murder of Tortuguita at the hands of Atlanta’s jackbooted thugs in police uniforms
last saturday, a crowd of 100 people gathered in front of the merrill lynch office building to share memories, tears, and vengence for tortuguita. the crowd was a militant throng, mostly in black from head to toe. the march took state street and then paraded behind a porsche dealership, which funds the atlanta police foundation. the crowd riotously engaged in expressions of grief, including spray painting fancy cars and slashing the tires of 40+ cars waiting to be sold. signs were left behind at porsche and merrill lynch stating “cop city will never be built” and “you fund police murder”. no arrests were made.
we love you tort, and we will never stop fighting for the world you believe in.Submitted anonymously over email
Protest and direct action against capitalism, imperialism, and fascism
