Trouble reading this email? Click here to view it online.

Hundreds of students have been arrested at dozens of universities for participating in protests against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Protests and crackdowns are both escalating, and fossil fueled fascists in Congress are calling for violent mobs and military crackdowns on peaceful protests.

As an anti-fascists climate group, we know that police don't make us safe, mass arrests don't de-escalate anything, and it's up to us to take action that protects protestors and the right to protest. Sign now to tell President Biden: No National Guard on college campuses. Reaffirm the right to protest now!

We don't have to guess what that looks like because we already know: At Kent State on May 4, 1970, 28 National Guard soldiers fired into a crowd of thousands protesting the Vietnam War. They killed four students and wounded nine others. And during the black lives matter protests in 2020, tear gas and other weapons of war were used on US protestors repeatedly by militarized law enforcement and federal agents acting under the orders of then-President and fossil fueled fascist Donald Trump.

Those protests weren't so different from the ones we are seeing today. From Columbia to the University of Texas-Austin to the University of California, Berkeley, and back again, young people across the country are exercising their constitutionally protected rights to free speech and assembly to protest horrific violence in Gaza. Like a lot of climate groups, we support a ceasefire, and the right of students and anyone else to protest in support of peace and human rights.

President Biden has an opportunity to show the kind of leadership necessary to meet this moment of crisis. As the protests spread, Republican governors could act unilaterally. That's why your voice is urgently needed today: Add your name and help us send the president a clear and crucial reminder that dissent is not a crime, and protest is patriotic.

Thanks,?

?

Drew and the 198 anti fascists methods crew

Sources:

1. https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/29/headlines/police_arrest_275_campus_protesters_as_student_uprising_for_gaza_shows_no_sign_of_slowing_down
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/29/gaza-college-campus-protests-republicans-attack-biden-chaos/
3. https://www.library.kent.edu/special-collections-and-archives/kent-state-shootings-may-4-collection
4. https://www.198methods.org/2020/07/27/they-tear-gassed-moms-and-then-the-mayor-ban-tear-gas-now/
5. https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/university-protests-palestine-04-30-24/index.html
6. https://www.198methods.org/2023/10/20/ceasefire-now/

You're receiving this email because you're awesome, and/or subscribed via our website or one of the many joint actions we run with partners.

198 methods is an experiment in melding online and direct action styles of organizing, with an emphasis on developing new projects and partners. You can learn more about us at our website, www.198methods.org