Category: Police
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…
Marvin Haynes Exonerated and Released From Prison After 19 Years
Minneapolis, MN — In a historic ruling, Hennepin County Judge William Koch vacated Marvin Haynes’ murder conviction, dismissed his charges with prejudice, and ordered his release from prison where he was sentenced to serve life. Haynes walked out of MCF-Stillwater as an exonerated man into…
‘Jane’s Revenge’ Activist Pleads Guilty in Firebombing of Anti-Abortion Group ‘Wisconsin Family Action’
Madison, WI — Hrindindu Sankar Roychowdhury pleaded guilty on November 20, 2023 to federal arson charges resulting from a 2022 attack claimed under the moniker ‘Jane’s Revenge’ against Wisconsin Family Action, an anti-abortion Christian fundamentalist group.
The attack on Wisconsin Family Action’s office occurred on…
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…
Questions Surround FBI Informant Charged With Stabbing Convicted Cop Derek Chauvin
Tucson, AZ — Federal inmate and former FBI informant, John Turscak, was charged last week with attempted murder by federal prosecutors for the Black Friday stabbing incident of fellow prisoner Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted for the 2020 murder of…
Minneapolis City Councilors Reject Recruitment Deal With Cops, Accuse Mayor Frey of Fear Tactics
Minneapolis, MN — Minneapolis city council members repudiated Mayor Jacob Frey twice in one week before voting down his last minute effort to allocate more than $15 million to the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) for recruitment and retention bonuses.
“They had six months to speak…
FBI Labels Anti-Fascists and Anti-Racists as Violent Extremists
A recently released Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) document titled “Domestic Terrorism Symbols Guide”* links common protest symbols to “terrorism” — another marker in a common theme of conflating militant protest for social justice with deadly terrorist violence within the United States. Groups like the…
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…
Target’s Critics Call Out Chicanery: New Report Contradicts Official Reason Behind Closings
Minneapolis, MN — Data does not support Target’s claim that it’s closing stores due to theft, a new report finds — while others accuse the corporation of financial fraud, saying it is fudging its finances and falsely flagging shoplifters.
Due to “organized retail theft,” Target…
Torgerson Ruling Prohibits Police Searches in Minnesota Based on Odor of Cannabis
Minneapolis, MN — Last month, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in State v. Torgerson that the odor of marijuana on its own does not establish probable cause for police in Minnesota to search vehicles.
Criminal defense attorney and 2008 University of St.…
The Story of Chris Kaba: How London Police Hide Behind the Thin Blue Line
London, United Kingdom — Chris Kaba, 24, was unarmed when he was fatally shot by police in Streatham Hill, South London on Sept. 5, 2022. Kaba was the eldest of three brothers raised by parents from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He lived in Wembley,…
#NoKidsInPrison Art Installation Highlights Youth Incarceration Driven By Target
Saint Paul, MN — The #NoKidsInPrison traveling art installation highlighted artwork from several cities across the U.S. along the theme of abolishing youth imprisonment; including art inspired by youth incarceration in Minneapolis driven by Target Corp.
The Minneapolis based non-profit law firm Legal Rights Center…
No Charges For Georgia Troopers Who Killed Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán
Stone Mountain, GA — A Georgia prosecutor announced Friday, Oct. 6, that six Georgia State Patrol SWAT troopers – Brylend Myers, Jerry Parrish, Jonathan Salcedo, Mark Lamb, Ronaldo Kegel, and Royce Zah – will not face criminal charges in the January 18, 2023 shooting death…
Minneapolis City Council Rejects MPD Sergeant’s Workers’ Comp Settlement
Minneapolis, MN — In what appears to be a first in city politics, the Minneapolis City Council voted to reject former Minneapolis Police Sergeant Andrew Bittell’s workers’ compensation claim of $145,000. With over 23 years on the force, Sgt. Bittell had a violent history of…
Found Dead Following Police Encounter, Justin Teigen Remembered
A newly released Unicorn Riot video highlights the final moments of 24-year-old Justin Teigen’s life and features an interview with one of Teigen’s best friends who was perhaps the last person to see him alive. In 2009, Teigen, a father of one, was found dead…
Over 60 People Indicted on RICO Charges in Atlanta, Allegedly Promoting ‘Anarchist Ideas’
Georgia prosecutors have indicted 61 individuals under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, for their alleged participation in the #StopCopCity movement and for, as they put it, promoting “virulent anarchist ideas.”
‘Wall of Forgotten Natives’ Encampment Revived After Five Years, Gets Evicted
Minneapolis, MN — On the morning of Thursday, August 24, Minnesota State Troopers clambered over an overturned car, piles of street lamps, and concrete barriers brought in to fortify the perimeter of a strip of land known as the Wall of Forgotten Natives as its…
French Police Kill Teen During Traffic Stop, Leading to Mass Revolt
A month before Minnesota law enforcement fatally shot Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop, police in France killed an Algerian teenager during a similar stop leading to a mass revolt across the country against anti-Black racism. An alarming pattern of deadly traffic stops in…
Helicopter Footage From Mass Arrest Reveals State Trooper Surveillance Capabilities, Tactics, and Communications
Minneapolis, MN – High-tech surveillance video and audio communication from a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter, obtained and first published by Unicorn Riot, reveals some of the planning and tactics behind the largest mass arrest in recent Minnesota history. On Nov. 4, 2020, a multi-agency law…
‘Traffic stops should not be death sentences’ – Trooper Kills Ricky Cobb II During Traffic Stop
Minneapolis, MN — Around 2 a.m. on July 31, Minnesota State Patrol trooper Ryan Londregan fatally shot Ricky Cobb II, 33, during a traffic stop on Interstate 94 West near 42nd Ave. North. Cobb II is Black and Londregan is white. It’s yet another deadly…
‘We Won the Move!’ Minneapolis Council Member Celebrates After Community Thwarts Plans For Old 3rd Precinct Site
Minneapolis, MN — Results from the recent listening sessions hosted by the the City of Minneapolis and a consulting firm about the future location of the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct that was torched after George Floyd was murdered by former 3rd Precinct officer Derek Chauvin…
