March 7, 2018 by Refuse Fascism
Press Alert: Secret Service, DC Police, and Department of Homeland Security Suppress Political Speech of RefuseFascism.org Activists
Available for Interview:
Tala Deloria, Revolution Club, arrested twice for challenging Steve Mnuchin at UCLA
RefuseFascism.org activists arrested in DC – upon availability
Contact: 917-407-1286
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Secret Service, DC Police, and Department of Homeland Security Suppress Political Speech of RefuseFascism.org Activists
Recent days have seen a dramatic escalation of state repression aimed at silencing those who expose and oppose the crimes against the people being committed by the Trump/Pence Regime. A verbal challenge to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to debate has been turned into a crime to be targeted for political suppression, arrest, and political snooping by Secret Service, police, and the Department of Homeland Security.
On March 5th, two activists from RefuseFascism.org were illegitimately arrested in front of the Treasury Building in DC by Secret Service while peacefully reading out loud a challenge to Steve Mnuchin to debate two other young women who were arrested during Mnuchin’s February 26th speech at UCLA. While the two RefuseFascism.org activists were held more than 24 hours in DC jail, the Department of Homeland Security sent an agent to the home of one of the activist’s parents across the country near Seattle to snoop and ask questions about her daughter’s political views and involvement with RefuseFascism.org. Note well: this young activist is not a minor, she is more than 30 years old; there is no legitimate reason for any authorities to be contacting her parents, much less visiting their home.
“RefuseFascism.org activists on two coasts have been targeted with excessive politically-motivated suppression, repression and governmental snooping, including by the Department of Homeland Security for nothing more than nonviolent political speech. Not only must this repression stop, the message these young women were conveying – exposing the cruel and fascist program of Mnuchin and the Trump/Pence Regime he serves and calling on people to join us in standing up to stop a fascist America – must be heard far and wide,” said RefuseFascism.org spokesperson Sunsara Taylor.
The arrest and political targeting of RefuseFascism.org activists in DC comes on the heels of the widely publicized arrests of protesting students and others during Steve Mnuchin’s speech on February 26th at UCLA. As reported by the New York Times, Washington Post and others, Mnuchin then further suppressed these protesters by begging UCLA to back out of their commitment to publish video of the event. Despite this suppression, cell phone footage of the protesters’ remarks and arrests has been seen more than a million times on social media.
Also on March 5th, back in Los Angeles, Tala Deloria, the UCLA student who can be seen in the Feb 26th video being carried out of Steve Mnuchin’s event, was arrested yet again at UCLA while standing in the lobby of a public event on UCLA campus. The police claim she was violating an illegitimate 7 day ban from campus which they had conveyed verbally during her first arrest. Deloria can be seen in this video issuing a challenge to Steve “the Mouse” Mnuchin to debate her and the others who were arrested during his Feb 26 UCLA speech.