MN Anti-War Committee Stands in Solidarity with Alejandro Orellana

You can find the statement linked here on Instagram as well.

On Thursday June 12, Alejandro Orellana, an immigrant rights activist with the Centro Community Service Organization (Centro CSO) was arrested and had his home in East Los Angeles raided by the FBI with the assistance of the National Guard and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. He was tagged with two fabricated federal charges of “conspiracy to commit civil disorder” and “aiding and abetting civil disorder”.

The Minnesota Anti-War Committee stands with Alejandro and all national and local organizations across the United States in demanding that all charges against him be dropped. The Anti-War Committee is no stranger to attempts at stifling free speech and the right to dissent. In 2010 the homes of members of the Anti-War Committee in Minneapolis and other anti-war organizers around the country were raided in a bogus attempt to conflate their activism with “material support for terrorism”.

Just as these charges against Alejandro attempt to conflate his protesting of ICE and Trump’s violent crackdown on immigrants as some sort of crime, we see through the rhetoric and recognize these charges as desperate attempts at political repression.

Protesting ICE and fighting back against deportations is not a crime. Alejandro serves as an inspiration to everyone in the fight against the oafish brutality of Trump’s immigration policies– (and those who enforce them) here at home, as well his stumbling, blindfolded attempts at “foreign policy” which cause the continual degradation of people’s lives in Palestine, Iran, and across the globe.

We call on everyone of conscience around the country to join us and demand Alejandro’s charges be dropped immediately. From Minneapolis to LA– ICE out of everywhere! Protesting is not a crime!