Always Against Prison — From Hamilton to Minneapolis

This evening, we dropped a banner over highway 403 going towards Toronto in solidarity with the five people in Minneapolis facing serious felony charges in connection to a New Year’s eve noise demo in that city. Although we’re glad all five are out on bail, the arrests and charges mark a significant escalation of repression against an international anarchist tradition.

In our region, New Year’s noise demos started in 2009 in response to a hunger strike campaign by anarchist prisoners, and we have kept doing them every year since. These demos let us a share a moment of celebration with prisoners, breaking the alienation through direct action. As an international tradition, they are also a thread that connects us to anarchists elsewhere, allowing us to exchange ideas and tactics with people whose contexts are quite different than ours. Read More …

Drop the Charges! Free Cedar! Day of Action Report Back

On Friday, June 28th, We called for a Day of Autonomous Action to drop all the charges against pride defenders and to free Cedar immediately. This Day of Action comes on the heels of repeated harassment of queers by the police, city Councillors, mayor Fred Eisenberger and the far-right since the fall out of the Hamilton Pride festival.

June 28th was also the 50th anniversary of The Stonewall riot in NYC which catalyzed the modern Queer and Trans Liberation movements and what we’ve come to know as Pride. Getting back to our roots, this Day of Action wasn’t a music festival, there was no banks invited, no personalities, no celebrities, no boards, no cops, no CEO’s. Our Day of Action was one of people coming together and rejecting piecemeal offerings of tolerance and demanding liberation. This is our Stonewall. This is our Bathhouse Riot.

There was over 47 actions around the world responded to our call, with graffiti, postering, stickers, marches, rallies, demonstrations, phone zaps, messages of solidarity and fundraisers. It has brought us to tears time and again seeing the love people have to give, and encourages our call to drop the charges and free Cedar. Read More …