North Dakota Sheriff Advising South Dakota and Nebraska on Keystone XL

Omaha, NE – The Omaha World-Herald is reporting that Kyle Kirchmeier, the sheriff of Morton County, North Dakota, is providing consultation services to law enforcement in areas where the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline (KXL) is expected to be built.
Kirchmeier is known for commanding…

Chile: 68 Arrested During Protest for Free Public Education

Santiago,  Chile – 68 protesters, including 33 minors, were arrested in Santiago during the Chilean student movement’s first national march of the new school year, on April 11th, 2017.
Contributed By Jtree

Police special forces units used large quantities of CS gas. Water cannons shooting…

214 Indicted on Felony Riot Charges for Protesting Trump Inauguration

Washington, D.C. – Dozens of protesters appeared in District of Columbia Superior Court on Tuesday, March 14, to face charges stemming from a mass arrest conducted by police during demonstrations on the streets of D.C. against the inauguration of Donald Trump as president on January…

Crisis: Borderlands

In late February, Unicorn Riot dispatched a small media team intent on learning more about the ongoing border crisis to the desert borderlands of Arizona in the southwest United States. While there, we learned how the new Trump regime’s policies were impacting the local community. …

Minneapolis ‘Resisting the Muslim Ban’ Community Meeting Draws Hundreds

Minneapolis, MN – On January 29th, hundreds of Minneapolis residents came together at Brian Coyle Community Center in the Cedar Riverside Neighborhood of Minneapolis. One of the speakers at the night’s event would refer to Brian Coyle as “the heart and home of the Minneapolis…

Eviction of Denver DIY Stronghold Rhinoceropolis Ordered by Deputy Police Chief

Denver, CO – Following the eviction by the Denver Police and Fire Departments of the longtime Do-It-Yourself (DIY) art and music space Rhinoceropolis earlier this month, the RiNO neighborhood association issued a statement condemning the eviction.
In addition to objecting to the targeting of a…

With Mayor’s Approval, Denver Continues Survival Gear Confiscations

Denver, CO – After Mayor Michael Hancock released a statement on Saturday, December 10th, about a supposed policy change to the confiscations of people’s survival gear including blankets and tents, over twenty five news outlets have praised him for this apparent temporary winter-month “end” to…

DIY Art and Music Venues Targeted and Shut Down after Ghost Ship Fire

Denver, CO – The residents of local DIY art and music venues Rhinoceropolis and Glob in the RiNO district of Denver were abruptly evicted the evening of Thursday, December 8th, by the Denver Police and Denver Fire Departments. The spaces are currently being investigated by…

FEMA Trains Local Police for “Field Force” Crackdowns

Unicorn Riot has obtained a federal training manual, Field Force Operations, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP). The federal government uses this document to train local law enforcement in techniques for quelling protests. It was acquired during our reporting on…

Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Hosts District Attorney Candidate Forums

Denver, CO – The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition has been hosting District Attorney Candidate Forums, designed to offer the communities directly impacted by the District Attorney’s office, an opportunity to ask questions relevant to their most pressing issues.
“The District Attorney is arguably the…

Solecast 29 w/ Abby Martin on The Empire

Solecast 29 consists of an extensive conversation with Abby Martin.

Abby is the host of The Empire Files on Telesur and former host of RT’s “Breaking The Set.”  The Empire Files is a thorough examination of US imperialism, its corporations, its attrocities at home, and…

People Without Housing File Lawsuit Against the City of Denver

Update – Denver, CO – On Friday, September 9th, 2016, Attorney Jason Flores-Williams filed the motion for class certification for the class-action lawsuit against the city of Denver for violating constitutional rights during “the sweeps” of people without housing.
Terese Howard, member of Denver Homeless…

Camps Prepare as Federal Injunction Hearing Looms

Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, ND – Unicorn Riot returned to the site of ongoing demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The demonstrations peaked on August 15th (as seen below), when multiple direct actions forced work to be called off at the west Missouri river…

No Charges Filed in Denver Police Killing of Unarmed Dion Avila Damon

Denver, CO – On Friday, August 12th, 2016, the office of Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey released a statement announcing that no criminal charges would be filed against Denver Police Technician Jeff Motz, who shot and killed Dion Avila Damon during a police ambush.
Damon…

Josie Valadez Fraire Sage Smudging Case Dismissed

Denver, CO – On Monday, August 1st, 2016 the case against Josie Valadez Fraire was dismissed. The 22-year-old Indigenous woman was detained and ticketed for burning sage at a counter-Trump protest in July.

“The police told me I disobeyed a lawful order to put out…

Military Police

New Cleveland RNC Police & Military Docs: FEMA Base to Setup at NASA

A trove of new documents exposes how Cleveland’s impending Republican National Convention will subject the public to a massive domestic military operation. Following decades of planning and millions of dollars spent, the RNC this July will amass into an unprecedented security state, constricting the constitutional…

Emails Show Denver Police Requested to Censor Student Art

Denver, CO – On March 22, 2016, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock issued a statement that a student painting hung in the Wellington Webb city building had been taken down. The painting in question, which was part of a Denver Public Schools (DPS) display, depicts a…

Denver Foreclosure Auction Disrupted by Friends of Martin Wirth

“What you guys are doing is killing our communities and killing our neighborhoods. Remember that.” – Brenda Budd
Denver, CO – On April 7th, 2016, protesters disrupted a foreclosure auction at the Wellington Webb Building in downtown Denver in honor of their friend Martin Wirth…

One Year Later: A Cop’s Eye View of Protest Repression in Denver

Denver, CO – One year ago today, protesters in Denver took the streets in solidarity with the uprising taking place in Baltimore in response to the police killing of Freddie Gray. The Denver Police Department (DPD) forcefully repressed the march as soon as it began,…

Interview with Christopher Soghoian about Analyst’s Notebook

For our story about the Denver Police Department’s use of the surveillance analytics software program Analyst’s Notebook, we were happy to be able to speak by telephone with Christopher Soghoian, Principal Technologist with the American Civil Liberties Union.  He answered some questions for us about…

Liberation Day Honors Resistance at Wounded Knee

Pine Ridge, SD – On February 27th, 2016 Unicorn Riot attended the 43rd annual Liberation Day on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The day began with a “Four Directions Walk & Caravan” led by participants holding Medicine Staffs and American Indian Movement flags…

Denver Activist Martin Wirth Killed in Eviction Standoff with Sheriffs

On the morning of February 24th, Martin Wirth was shot and killed in Bailey, Colorado as the Park County Sheriff’s Office attempted to serve him with an eviction notice in the home where he had lived since 1998. A Corporal from the Sheriff’s Office was…

Move 9 Supporters Urge Attorney General to Open Investigation

Supporters of the Move 9 are asking for signatures to urge the Attorney General to open an investigation into the 1978 highly contested murder case which for years has been criticized as politically and racially targeted.

Using the hashtag #FreeTheMove9 advocates have launched a twitterstorm…