Support UR’s Upcoming RNC/DNC Convention Coverage
As election season heats up in the U.S., Unicorn Riot is gearing up to cover the upcoming 2024 RNC/DNC conventions, and we need your support to help us provide an independent voice on the ground!
Category: Community
From Boston to Palestine: Student Encampments Began in Peace and Ended in Handcuffs
It's impossible to think of Greater Boston without acknowledging the importance of its students and universities. When campus encampments sprung up across the country, it came as no surprise when many began in Greater Boston.
Four Years After Police Kill Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, Family and Friends Gather to Remember Their Loved One
Salt Lake City, UT — Four years ago Salt Lake City Police shot and killed Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, a 22-year-old man from Salt Lake City’s Rose Park neighborhood.
Protests erupted in the days after Palacios-Carbajal’s killing. Fueled by the nationwide outrage at George Floyd’s murder in…
🦄 Arts & Culture, Community, Global
Inside Enclave Rabia Caracol — An Anarchist Community Center and Cafe in Tijuana, Mexico
Tijuana, Mexico — In the heart of downtown Tijuana, less than a kilometer from the San Yisidro Port of Entry and blocks away from the most popular nightlife and tourist areas of the city, migrants rest on the stairs of a café while passersby lean…
DU Jewish Students in Support of Gaza Solidarity Encampment Claim Misrepresentation by Administration
Denver, CO — It has been 10 days since students at the University of Denver (DU) set up an ongoing Gaza solidarity encampment, in part, to demand the university divests from Israel. On May 19, the students held a press conference to shed light on…
From Turtle Island to Palestine: Denver Commemorates Nakba
Denver, CO — On Wednesday evening, the local Indigenous community hosted a “healing event” at the Auraria Campus pro-Palestine solidarity encampment. According to a press release for the event, in tandem with the commemoration, the organizers “offer[ed] solidarity and healing for the Palestinian community” and…
‘The People’s Graduation’ Celebrates Dozens in Denver During Pro-Palestine Ceremony
Denver, CO — On Sunday afternoon, more than 100 people gathered on the Tivoli Quad at the Auraria Campus to witness and celebrate the dozens of graduates and student activists who participated in “The People’s Graduation” organized by the campus’ pro-Palestine solidarity encampment that’s been…
Brazil: Slave Revolt Celebration, Deadly Police Op, Bolsonaro’s Issues and Marielle’s Killers Arrested
EspÃrito Santo, Brazil — Providing an update from Brazil, we look at new happenings in four stories that Unicorn Riot has explored in the past; post-slavery commemorations, police killings, Bolsonaro’s legal troubles and the murder of Councilmember Marielle Franco.
Celebrating the Queimado Insurrection
Days of…
🦄 Community, Investigative, Land & Housing, Police
Imminent ‘Cleanups’ Scheduled Under Philadelphia ‘State of Emergency’ Kensington Operations
Unicorn Riot has obtained a schedule for "cleanup" operations due in the next 72 hours in the Kensington neighborhood, one element in new mayor Cherelle Parker's plan to dramatically change local conditions through state action.
Palestinian Christians in Gaza Pray for Peace on Palm Sunday
Amid a humanitarian crisis, Christians gathered at the only Roman Catholic Church in the Gaza Strip to pray for peace during the religion's Palm Sunday while just a few blocks away heavy fighting between Palestinian resistance and Israeli forces raged on.
Community Calls on Minnesota Governor and AG to ‘Stay Out of Hennepin County Prosecutions’
Minneapolis, MN – Police associations and pro-police members of Congress are pressuring Minnesota’s governor to wrest prosecuting power away from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty over her decision to charge State Trooper Ryan Londregan with murder for the July 2023 fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb…
🦄 Community, Land & Housing
Camp Nenookaasi Burns Down, Finds New Home
Minneapolis, MN — Camp Nenookaasi, a beacon of hope to the unhoused community, burned down on Thursday afternoon. At 12:07 p.m. on February 29, firefighters were called after a yurt caught fire and spread to the rest of the camp.
Unicorn Riot heard from Ta…
🦄 Arts & Culture, Community, Tech
Black History Smashfest Brings Together Black Gamers
A small but unprecedented event occurred on the last weekend of 2024's Black History Month when nearly 20 Black gamers converged together in Minneapolis for the state's first ever Black-only gaming session centered on Super Smash Bros.
🦄 Community, Land & Housing, Police
Camp Nenookaasi Pushes Debates in Minneapolis Around Encampments [Video]
Minneapolis, MN — Camp Nenookaasi, an encampment of unhoused peoples with grassroots Indigenous leadership, is pushing debates in Minneapolis around encampments, evictions, and solutions for the unhoused. Started in late August 2023, the camp successfully delayed two eviction threats from the city in December, before…
🦄 Community, Land & Housing
‘Ya’ll Just Voted to Kill People!’: Denver City Council Upholds Mayor’s ‘No Freezing Sweeps’ Veto
Denver, CO — On the afternoon of February 12, the Denver City Council again voted on the “No Freezing Sweeps” bill in their chambers, but this time the vote was to potentially override Mayor Mike Johnston’s veto of the Council’s passage of the bill. When…
🦄 Arts & Culture, Community
Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Relatives Remembered
On any given month in the past decade, a range of 27 to 54 Indigenous women and girls are listed as missing in Minnesota. To raise awareness of this crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, two-spirit people and relatives (MMIW/R), activists in Minnesota use Valentine's Day, February 14, to hold events, along with May 5 being the official MMIW day.
🦄 Community, Land & Housing
Camp Nenookaasi Brings Minneapolis’ Policies Against its Unhoused Residents to the Forefront
Minneapolis, MN — The city of Minneapolis evicted Camp Nenookaasi, the city’s largest encampment of unhoused people, three times over the past month in an attempt to prevent encampments of this size and level of infrastructure from forming. After each eviction, Nenookaasi pops up again…
🦄 Community, Land & Housing, Police
Denver Passes ‘No Freezing Sweeps’ Bill, Potential Mayor Veto Looms
Denver, CO — During Monday evening’s Denver City Council meeting, a narrow majority of council members voted to approve a measure to prevent forced removals of unhoused residents from their outdoor encampments in 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Because Denver does not guarantee temporary indoor…
🦄 Community, Eco, Land & Housing
From Demolition Plans to Neighborhood Ownership: East Phillips Begins Transformation of Roof Depot into a Community Haven
Minneapolis, MN — It’s been a long road to ownership of the hotly contested Roof Depot site for the residents of the East Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis, and they recently cleared one more hurdle in their way.
On November 8, the City of Minneapolis accepted…
Keep Unicorn Riot Growing Through 2024
With wars and polarization on the rise, independent media continues to meet a critical need. Since 2015, Unicorn Riot has reported underrepresented stories and shed light on alternative perspectives and systems, while providing an accessible platform for diverse stories, communities, and media makers through free,…
Film: An Infamous Precinct in Ruins and a Community Organizing Itself
Minneapolis, MN — Minneapolis has decided on a new site for housing its police department’s 3rd Precinct. Three and a half years after thousands of community members ransacked and torched the precinct at 3000 Minnehaha Avenue during the George Floyd Uprising, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey…
Cultural Conferences Return to Brazil Without Fear of Repression
Cultural conferences have returned to Brazil without fear of repression and many organizers across the country are celebrating. The victory of current President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva over Jair Messias Bolsonaro in the last presidential elections marked the end of a turbulent period in…
National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality at Ruins of the 3rd Precinct
Minneapolis, MN — Over a dozen members of families impacted by police violence marched from the ruins of the former Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct to one of the proposed new precinct sites chanting “No new precinct” on the 28th annual National Day of Protest Against…
Pro-Palestine Protest Attacked in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN — An older white man drove his vehicle through pro-Palestinian protesters and brandished both a box cutter and a knife on Sunday afternoon. The attack is part of a rising trend of violence on protesters and came as thousands of people held a…