Folks – The cops are rioting again.

Today is the 54th anniversary of the Kent State massacre that killed four Ohio college students and seriously wounded nine more. But we may as well be trapped in time with what’s playing out on college campuses across the country right now.

I know, because I’ve been there. One week ago I was arrested while standing in solidarity with students at Washington University in St. Louis – alongside Jill Stein and our Deputy Campaign Manager, Kelly.

We got lucky. We walked away with little more than bumps and bruises. Professor Steve Tamari of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was hospitalized with serious, life-threatening injuries after video showed cops savagely beating him and nearly puncturing his lung.

It cannot be overstated that the college protests are peaceful and non-violent. Students are occupying spaces and causing disruptions – but they are NOT causing injuries.

By contrast, the students themselves have been assaulted by riot cops and Zionist counter-protesters – who threw firecrackers at students encamped at UCLA this week.

The students are making clear and straightforward demands that their universities divest from the war machine. They want dialogue. When schools like Evergreen State College here in Washington (Rachel Corrie’s alma mater), along with Dartmouth, Pomona and Brown negotiate in good faith, the protests disperse and no one is hurt.

Occupying space is not violent. In movements for justice, it is essential. Biden would do well to remember the civil rights leaders he so often invokes – John Lewis, Rosa Parks, MLK – all occupied space to protest injustice. And they broke “the law” to do it.

It is the cops who are rioting – and they are doing it on behalf of the power brokers and the status quo.

Despite the indisputable fact these student protests have been non-violent, police have repeatedly instigated extreme brutality – using stun grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets, and violent physical assaults while arresting protesters without cause.

We also have confirmation that multiple campuses deployed armed officers to rooftops overlooking protests in the last two weeks, pointing weapons at students as police moved in to disband the crowd.

All while members of Congress and other public figures are openly calling for the National Guard to be deployed.

History is already repeating itself. It’s unbelievable that no one has died yet, and I hope it stays that way. But with a militarized police force trained by IDF soldiers and acting like Blackwater commandos...I’m afraid to hold my breath.

I’m a lifelong anti-war activist running for Congress to stand up to America’s police state and represent the millions of Americans who want to end this genocide. My opponent is a former lobbyist turned career politician funded by the same weapons manufacturers shipping munitions to slaughter Palestinians.

This district is the best opportunity in the country to get a Green Party member elected to Congress. Will you donate today to help me win this primary and take our demand for justice to the House?

In solidarity,

Jason

P.S. As a lifelong anti-war activist, I’ve also partnered with Win Without War and other like-minded groups to send a clear and urgent message to the White House: The right to protest is sacrosanct. We cannot allow National Guard troops on campus. Will you add your name alongside mine?