Shortly after midnight on January 31st, San Francisco police and fire marshals raided a benefit party for student arrestees from recent campus occupations. The party was organized by students from SF State, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Davis, to help raise money for fines issued during last semester's spate of demonstrations. Eleven people were arrested. A crowd gathered at the District Attorney's office/County Jail until arrestees were released. Most were charged with misdemeanors and released by morning, but one person remains jailed on felony aggravated assault charges. Amongst those physically injured by police, one person received a head injury and another sustained serious physical injuries to his arm.

Various witnesses have reported undercover police inside the party before it was raided, police and fire marshals threatening to break down the front doors, and SFPD using tasers on party-goers, beating people, smashing cameras of witnesses, and damaging the venue after it was cleared of people.

Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | Call Out for Witness Photographs & Video

Related Indybay Features: After Morning Arrests at "Liberated" Wheeler Hall Eight Arrested on Felony Charges | Business Building Occupation at San Francisco State University Ends with Pre-Dawn Raid | California Students Protest and Occupy as UC Regents Approve 32% Fee Hike | UC Santa Cruz Students Occupy Administration Building

On January 28, at around 9pm Andrea Caraballo, Guadalupe Rodriguez Lopez, James Wells and Jennifer Lawhorne were eating ice cream in the zocalo of Oaxaca. At that time, one of them recognized the face of the governor of Oaxaca who was about nine feet away. A friend of Brad Will took advantage of the governor’s presence to ask him about the case of Mr. Will, which to this day remains unresolved.

Bradley Roland Will, a journalist with New York City Indymedia, was shot and killed in October 2006 during the six-month long uprising in Oaxaca. His assailants are believed to be local officials with ties to the ruling political party.

Governor Ulies Ruiz Ortiz walked away from the tourists who asked about Will without giving a response. Five minutes later, between six and eight police agents, some in official uniform and others dressed in plainclothes, surrounded the four tourists, demanding to see their identifications and forcing them to enter a municipal police truck. The police refused to provide them with any information. Read more

On the first anniversary of the Israeli military assault on Gaza, the Gaza Freedom March, trapped in Cairo, marched not only against the Israeli siege on Gaza, but also against an Egyptian blockade. On New Year’s Day 2010, Gaza Freedom March delegates ratified the historic Cairo Declaration, launching a global boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign against Israeli apartheid.

The international delegation of the Gaza Freedom March had originally planned to arrive in Gaza on December 29, 2009, to join a march against the Israeli blockade together with residents of Gaza on December 31. Instead, most of its delegates remained in Cairo, having been blocked from going to the Rafah border by the Egyptian government, and found itself marching against the Egyptian blockade on Gaza instead.

The Gaza Freedom March sought to highlight the plight of the 1.5 million residents of Gaza on the first anniversary of the Israeli invasion of the densely-populated Palestinian territory by entering Gaza with humanitarian aid for water purification, school materials, medicines, and other much needed supplies. After Israel tightened its blockade on Gaza after the election of a Hamas majority in the elections of January 2006, Egypt has refused to give open permission for foreign citizens to enter Gaza through Rafah until the last minute.
Jan. 4 report by Sharat G. Lin, who traveled to Cairo from San Jose

On January 9th, Egypt announced it will ban all aid convoys travelling to Gaza, tightening its blockade against the people of Gaza. On January 8th, Egypt deported British MP George Galloway, who had been participating in the Gaza Freedom March. Galloway has now been banned from ever returning to Egypt.

Egyptian Riot Cops Attack Humanitarian Workers in Viva Palestina Aid Convoy to Gaza | Video of the attack on Viva Palestina‏ | Blocking Freedom Marcher/Viva Palestina Aid to Gaza | Viva Palestina Convoy Enters Gaza

Gaza Freedom March: detained at the US embassy | Will Egypt's underground wall end the Gaza tunnel trade? | Galloway Deported, Banned From Egypt | Egypt bans Gaza aid convoys

On Friday, January 1st, 2010, two events took place in Oakland to commemorate the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police on New Year's Day 2009. The first was a vigil at the Fruitvale BART station organized by Oscar Grant's family, where a political and multi-faith group spoke in the memory of Oscar and for a future of hope, justice and action. In the evening, the community gathered at the Humanist Hall in Oakland for an artistic and cultural night dedicated to networking and education. Many poets, artists, activists, allies and family gathered. Initially, the Oakland Police tried to stop this event due to lack of a permit. Although it was scheduled on private property, the OPD insisted it was a "special circumstance" event and needed a permit. In the end, the movement-building event went on.

In Los Angeles, community activists are already planning for a strong presence inside and outside of the court house on January 8th. It will be the first hearing for Johannes Mehserle since his murder trial was moved out of Alameda County.

Anniversary Events — Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Audio: 1 | 2 | Announcement

Report Back: Successful Organizing Meeting for Los Angeles Oscar Grant Justice Coalition

See Also: Kiilu Nyasha & Emory Douglas: Remember Oscar Grant, Resist Police Brutality and Murder

Previous Related Indybay Feature: Judge Orders Mehserle to Be Tried in Los Angeles County

Does your right to carry a skateboard vanish into thin air when you step onto the Fresno City College campus? Ask Greg and Demone Moultrie, who are still sitting in the Fresno County Jail, what they think. According to witnesses, Greg Moultrie was walking on campus with his skateboard in his hands on September 25, 2009 when he was stopped by a campus police officer. The officer ordered Moultrie to hand over his skateboard. When he did not want to comply with what he felt was an unreasonable request, the incident escalated and Demone Moultrie, Greg's brother, got involved. As officers scuffled with the Moultries, a student at the Native American Intertribal Student Association table got on the group's PA system and encouraged students to use their cell phones to film the incident.

In video on the Internet, you can see the chaotic scene, including one of the officers hitting Demone with his baton. Greg was sprayed with mace. Greg is now, more than three months after this incident, still sitting in the Fresno County Jail. He has just been given a three year sentence for charges filed against him in the skateboarding incident. Demone is also still in jail and is scheduled to be sent to Chino State Prison on January 21, all because of this skateboarding incident. How could something as simple as walking across the FCC campus with a skateboard end up with two young men in jail for a prolonged period of time? Read more

On Friday, December 11th, more then 150 people marched to Sheikh Jarrah to show support and solidarity with the families who have been evicted from their houses, and those facing evictions. Upon arriving at the neighborhood, the protesters continued to the Al-Kurd’s home where settlers have taken over parts of the house, making the Al-Kurd lives a living hell.

The Israeli courts, who never acknowledge the rights of Palestinian refugees, have ruled that four families who were evicted from their homes and land in the Nakba ("disaster") of 1948, are to to be evicted again from their houses in Sheikh Jarrah, since the land was owned by Jews some 50 years ago. The court never dealt with the houses and land that were taken from these Palestinian families (and that are now populated by Israelis) since Israeli laws allow for the confiscation of properties of Palestinians refugees. The Palestinian families were removed not to house the descendants of the land's original owners, but for settlers from an extremist organization (Ateret Cohanim) working to expel all Palestinians from Jerusalem.

After an Israeli flag, which represents colonialism and more then 60 years of apartheid and ethnic cleansing, was removed from the stolen settler house window, the police charged the protesters, beating and arresting 23 people, three of them internationals. Requests by some arrestees for medical attention after being pepper-sprayed and beaten were ignored by the police immediately after the arrests.

Update: This Friday (December 18) again, a peaceful demonstration of around 300 people, held in solidarity with the evicted Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, was violently dispersed by the Israeli police.

Read more | Another weekend in Sheikh Jarrah | Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem- What Can Be Done From Abroad | Sheikh Jarrah is no fairy tale

Older Coverage: More than 50 Palestinians Evicted from Jerusalem Homes

PORTLAND — Dec 16th, 2009 — Jeff Free Luers, political prisoner and environmental activist, was released from the Columbia River Correctional Institution this morning after serving nine and a half years. Luers was originally sentenced in 2001 to twenty two years and eight months for the politically motivated arson of three SUVs at a car dealership in Eugene, OR. This sentence was deemed grossly disproportionate to the damage sustained by the car dealership and was condemned by legal professionals, human rights groups and activists worldwide. At an appeal hearing in 2007 it was ruled that Luers' original sentence was illegal, and was consequently reduced to ten years.

Luers' release today comes after what Oregon Department of Corrections described as a 'mistake' when they released him early on October 20th this year. After a few short hours of freedom, Luers was taken back into custody in Eugene after the State agency reversed its decision and determined that he did not qualify under the new House Bill 3508 for an additional 10% reduction in sentence. DOC's gross incompetence in this situation, and the emotional toll borne by his family and loved ones, is just one of many examples of the distressing levels of bureaucratic impropriety that Luers has endured during his years behind bars.

Upon his release this morning, Mr. Luers stated, "The last 9 years have been difficult at best. I have witnessed things in prison that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I have endured hardship and loss. Without a doubt, this experience has changed me. What hasn't changed is my commitment to environmental and social justice."

Read more | Free Jeff Luers

Students at UC Berkeley re-grouped Friday evening to protest the early morning raid on the Open University at occupied Wheeler Hall. Police raided Wheeler at around 5am Friday morning while many of the students occupying the building were asleep. 66 people were arrested. Students had been occupying Wheeler since Monday, and the space was being used for study sessions, lectures, workshops, and celebrations during "Dead Week," the time between the end of classes and the beginning of final examinations.

At the evening rally, students denounced the arrests earlier that morning, which came without warning. Campus police and administrators had seemed to indicate that the students would be allowed to continue the occupation until Friday. Students also pointed out that while the occupation had not disrupted classes and study sessions at the building, the police locked the building and closed it to students after the raid. Speakers stated that the occupation was an example of how the university could be run and that it was a critique against the privatized nature of the university.

After the rally, a concert, featuring Boots Riley from the Coup, that had been scheduled to take place inside Wheeler Hall was held at an alternate location. The concert was followed by a march on the north side of campus. Police dispersed the marching crowd as it passed by the chancellor's residence. Eight people were arrested and taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. They are being charged with multiple felonies. Among the eight was an Indybay photographer covering the event. Eleven people arrested at student demonstrations in the past week remain in custody at Santa Rita Jail.

Read More | Eight protest bystanders charged with multiple felonies | Torchlit Evening with Birgeneau

Open University: Wheeler Raid - photos | Police Raid on Wheeler 5 AM - 64 arrested | Join our solidarity in the ocupation of Wheeler | Victory at Wheeler Hall | Students win open doors all night at Wheeler | Live Week at UC Berkeley

Report on the UC Protests at Berkeley, Davis, & Los Angeles | Wheeler Hall Police Complaint Process | Statement from ASUC/UCPD "Forum"

Mario Savio's Historic Call to Action in Berkeley 45 Years Ago

Previous Coverage Of UCB Tuition Protests

Jeffrey Luers was originally sentenced to 22 years and 8 months for the burning of three SUV's in Eugene, Oregon to make a statement about global warming. Despite the fact that this action hurt no one, Jeff was sent to prison for a sentence clearly determined by the political nature of the incident.

While in prison Jeff has remained dedicated to the environmental movement and continues to contribute with his writings, even acting as the keynote speaker at the 2005 Environmental Law Conference in Eugene, Oregon -via phone.

In 2007 Jeff won his appeal and his sentence was reduced to 10 years. He is scheduled to be released this December.

A final San Francisco benefit for Jeff to raise funds to help him as he transitions back to life on the outside will take place on Tuesday, December 8th starting at 8pm at El Rio.

Read more | Free Jeff Luers

At 4am on December 4th, 1969, the FBI, working with the Chicago police department, assassinated the charismatic and extremely successful Chicago Black Panther Party Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton in his bed as he slept. Along with the murder of Mark Clark in the same apartment that night, the "raid" was one in a long line of illegal actions taken by the FBI as part of its COINTELPRO war against the social justice and anti-war movements. Fred Hampton's pregnant wife was sleeping beside him when police stormed their residence; their child Fred Hampton Jr. was born less than four weeks later. Fred Hampton Jr., now Chairman of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee (POCC), embarked on a speaking tour to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the assassination of his father -- named for a common saying used by his father, "You can kill the revolutionary, but you can’t kill the revolution."

Fred Hampton Jr. speaking in: Oakland | Pleasant Hill | Santa Cruz | Video: Death of a Black Panther: The Fred Hampton Story | ‘I am … a revolutionary!’

After fifteen months, more than a dozen court appearances, three major motions, four rejected plea deals, two district attorneys, and nearly a thousand hours of defense work, the case against drum circle supporters, Wes and Jack, is finished.

On September 17th, 2008, two protesters were arrested at the scene of the farmer's market drum circle, Jack, a cook for Food Not Bombs and Wes, a drummer with the Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra. Both Jack and Wes took part in a protest at Santa Cruz Parking Lot 4 in support of the drum circle at the Wednesday Farmer’s Market, and to oppose the fences erected by the city to preclude the drummers from their traditional spot around the trees in the parking lot near the farmer's market. Read morea and view photos