Intifada in Baltimore: Baltimore Youth Rise Up for Freddie Gray and All the Other Freddie Grays

Freddie Gray was killed by Baltimore police. In the process of arresting and/or transporting him on April 12, police severed his spine and he died a week later on April 19. It's not even clear under what pretense police arrested him.

Baltimore police commissioner Anthony Batts (formerly chief of Oakland police) has admitted that Freddie was given a "rough ride", although not in those words. A rough ride is a long time torture technique favored by many police whereby arrestees will be deliberately driven around in vans in a manner certain to cause injury. Batts also acknowledges that Freddie was not given timely medical attention. Six police officers are on paid vacation (technically "suspended"), yet no officer has been fired or criminally charged for the injuries or death of Freddie Gray at this point.

Today was Freddie Gray's funeral. Seemingly in anticipation of large protests, Baltimore police fed the corporate media a narrative about police having intelligence that area gangs were in the process of planning attacks on police. The corporate media dutifully reported these supposed threats as fact. On the pretext of fear for their safety, police had public transportation shut down, leaving Baltimore students with no transportation from school at the end of the day. Police arrived in riot gear to confront the students.

Since that time, street battles have escalated between protesters and police, with protesters throwing objects at police and police firing "less than lethal" projectiles, tear gas, and pepper spray at protesters. Police cars and vans, vans like the one in which Freddie Gray received a "rough ride", have been torched. Product has been liberated from several stores, and it appears that some area buildings may have been set on fire as well.

The Freddie Gray rebellion continues as this video is posted here.



[The exact origin of this video is not known. It was found in a story on Photography Is Not a Crime -- http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/04/baltimore-cop-caught-on-camera-throwing-rock-back-at-protesters/ -- although the person posting it appears to have captured it from a local corporate news helicopter's footage being broadcast today. The emphasis of the PINAC story was on a cop throwing rocks at protesters. Much more interesting and impactful is the fact that large numbers of Baltimore youth were charging police with a barrage of hand-thrown projectiles, forcing police to retreat. Many people online have made the connection between Baltimore and Palestinian youths fighting back against occupying forces. Some have called it an intifada in Baltimore.]