Category: Police
🦄 Investigative, Police, Tech
Cobwebs Spy Software Locks Onto Protesters: Israeli Social Media Mining Contract with Homeland Security Revealed
An Israeli spy software tech firm licenses web surveillance tools to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The software contract shows new details about this sensitive technology DHS has used to spy on activists during the last several years.
🦄 Police
Man Reportedly in Crisis Killed by Minneapolis Police
Minneapolis, MN — Minneapolis Police killed a man who they say was “acting irrationally” and not obeying direct orders to drop a weapon he was holding around 9:30 p.m. on June 12. The victim was publicly identified on June 14 as 39-year-old Michael Ristow. He…
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…
Drexel Students Set Up Palestine Encampment, Call for Divestment From Israel
Philadelphia, PA — Students at Drexel University established an encampment in support of divesting from Israel on May 18, following a rainy Nakba Day commemoration march from Center City that started around 4 p.m. Philadelphia and Drexel police officers quickly surrounded the encampment with a…
In New Sweep, Police Ban Observers & Media from Control Zone in Kensington, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA — Philadelphia police officers, under orders from the mayor’s office, are conducting anti-homeless encampment sweeps early on a rainy Wednesday morning. New hardline Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration banned the media and legal observers from monitoring their sweeps of unhoused people along a stretch…
Denver Migrant Encampment Faces Further Displacement, Auraria Campus Palestine Solidarity Camp Grows [Press Conference]
Denver, CO — On Friday afternoon, members from the unhoused migrant community, alongside organizers with Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND), Colorado Palestinian Coalition (CPC), and Students for a Democratic Society hosted a press conference about an impending sweep of the encampment on May 8 and…
Brazil: Slave Revolt Celebration, Deadly Police Op, Bolsonaro’s Issues and Marielle’s Killers Arrested
Espírito 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…
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.
As Border Protection’s Budget Increases, So Does Its Reach
Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency tasked with policing international borders in the U.S., is set to receive billions in additional funding after Congress passed its latest spending package. The agency, which has long avoided accountability, has a troubled history of law enforcement away…
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…
Nationwide ‘Week of Abolition’ Envisions an Abolitionist Future Without Prisons, Police
Denver, CO — This week is the National Lawyers Guild’s (NLG) annual nationwide campaign called “Week of Abolition” where local NLG law school chapters host events, activities and actions to spread knowledge and promote discussion about “alternatives to the criminal punishment system” with an aim…
Supporters of Jack Mazurek Hold Rally, Punk Show, Outside Fulton County Courthouse
Jack Mazurek, accused of burning Atlanta Police motorcycles in connection to the politically repressed 'Stop Cop City' movement, had his bond hearing delayed on Monday but a punk band still played a free show outside the courthouse.
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…
Federal and State Police Raid Three Homes in Atlanta Leading to One Arrest Amid ‘Cop City’ Investigation
Atlanta, GA — A multi-agency task force raided three homes in Atlanta early Thursday morning as part of an ongoing investigation surrounding resistance to ‘Cop City.’
At around 6:00 a.m., law enforcement agents with the Atlanta Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Patrol,…
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…
‘Stop The Steal’ Protest in San Diego ‘Hijacked’ by Proud Boys, Police Bodycam Shows
San Diego, CA – On the morning of Jan. 9, 2021 in Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, a group of Stop the Steal ralliers gathered on the sunny California boardwalk.
Hours later, after counter protesters had been dispersed, a voice would chime in over a…
🦄 Police
Murder Charges Filed on Trooper Who Fatally Shot Ricky Cobb II
Minneapolis, MN — Less than six months after Ricky Cobb II, 33, was fatally shot by Minnesota State Patrol troopers, Ryan Londregan has been formally charged with three felonies, including murder. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on January 24, 2024, that her office filed…
Greek Anarchist Collective Targeted by the State
The far-right Greek government has been going after the anarchist collective Rouvikonas (Rubicon) in similar ways as the U.S. has attempted to dismantle the ‘Cop City’ movement with state-level domestic terrorism and RICO charges. From wrongfully charging two Rouvikonas members with murder to attempting to…
One Year Since Tortuguita’s Killing: A Reflection on our Coverage of the Movement Against ‘Cop City’ and the First Eco-Activist Killed in the US
Thursday, January 18, 2024, marks one year since Manuel “Tortuguita” Esteban Paez Terán was killed by police in the South River Forest outside Atlanta. A 26-year-old queer anarchist, Tortuguita had been an active participant in the movement against “Cop City” for months before Georgia State…