Protests Against Escalation of Fascism Demand: Drive Out the Trump/Pence Regime!

After Trump’s May 9 firing of FBI Director Comey, the Advisory Board of Refuse Fascism released a statement saying, “The question we pose to you, to ourselves as an organization whose purpose is to lead people to Refuse Fascism in the name of humanity, is this: will this be a pivotal moment in which we do act with determination to do all we can to move people—who are right now alarmed and outraged—to take to the streets to demand that this regime be driven from power?” And they called on people to protest every night until the Trump/Pence regime is driven out.

There have been beginning protests. And there is an urgent need for the protests to spread and grow. As Refuse Fascism has said, “What matters now is what masses of people do: acting together with determination and creativity, expressing our outrage and anger, taking to the streets with the spirit of no business as usual, demanding that this regime be driven from power. In dealing with the extraordinary, we must rid ourselves of ordinary thinking. Now is a Moment to Act. Start with those you can gather and go out and grow. Make a Statement. Do not underestimate the power of the people when we struggle with courage and conviction.”

We call on revcom.us/Revolution readers to send in timely protest reports/photos/videos to revolution.reports@yahoo.com. Protests are continuing; the following are some brief reports and pictures we have received:

Los Angeles: Refuse Fascism, together with members of the Revolution Club, has been out every day and night in the streets since the Trump/Pence fascist regime fired FBI Director James Comey. People have been going out distributing flyers, calling on people to get in the streets to oppose the further consolidation of fascism in the U.S. Teams have gone out to busy Metro trains, a busy Art Walk in downtown LA, a high school in Hollywood and other places with crowds of people. Refuse Fascism has also gone to protests called for by other groups, including Indivisible, and also to individuals who are outraged and in shock of what is currently happening here.

These demonstrations have not been large but they’ve been significant. Media, including numerous international photojournalists, have been documenting the Refuse Fascism actions. Some other groups in Southern California have acted as well, most prominently 200 demonstrators spelling out the word “RESIST!” at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes.

On Saturday, May 13, Refuse Fascism protested for the third straight night in Hollywood. In addition to Refuse Fascism activists, a number of democratic minded people who sense the Comey firing is a turning point came out, including several who were at an earlier gathering in downtown LA demanding a special prosecutor to investigate Trump. There were also activists with the Hollywood/Silver Lake Resistance Posse and a street theater group doing a silent protest on Russian involvement in U.S. elections.

Things got confrontational real quick when an organized group of about 30 pro-Trump fascist storm troopers came to intimidate and threaten violence, spewing out all kinds of white supremacist, misogynist, xenophobic garbage. Refuse Fascism protesters stood firm, with chants and clear-cut agitation among hundreds, even thousands, of people. A range of people stepped forward in the midst of this confrontation. Some had been supportive of Refuse Fascism’s message but had been off to the side until that point, or had been passing by. These people took up “NO! Drive Out the Trump/Pence Regime” posters in the face of the fascists, spread the Call to Action from Refuse Fascism to others on the spot, and took up the chants demanding that the regime must go.

Cleveland: To reach out to a different crowd than the more progressive section of people we’ve gone out to in the last two days, some of us from Refuse Fascism went to a Cleveland Indians baseball game to take out our message to thousands of fans, overwhelmingly white people from the city and the suburbs. We got out 300 flyers, stickers, and about 25 people signed up for Refuse Fascism and some gave thumbs up and fists in the air. Of course, there were some Trump supporters yelling at us and the security and police tried to limit us from reaching people going to the game. When the game was going on we went to Public Square (the center of downtown) to reach a mix of people, including Black people, youth, and others. At points during the day, some sharp exchanges with pro-Trump people created a scene where other people could listen and see how serious we are about the need to drive out this fascist regime.

Berkeley: On Saturday, May 13, a “People’s vs. Donald Trump” street theater trial was held on the UC Berkeley campus. A whiteboard was set up, and people were called on to write up charges against Trump for crimes against humanity and the planet: demonization & persecution of immigrants, undermining the separation of church & state, subverting the separation of powers, escalating the destruction of the environment, to name a few.

Houston: Small numbers of people have been protesting at the Galleria, an upscale shopping area, for several days. There has been a lot of debate among people around two themes. One is an assumption among many that Trump is going to be impeached anyway because of his firing of Comey. Two, the U.S. political structure is strong enough to withstand even full-blown fascism. While small in numbers, it seems the very presence of people demanding that the Trump/Pence regime be driven out of power has alarmed the Galleria owners, who have now put up “no protest” signs, which they haven’t done since the upsurge of protests against police brutality.

Earlier Protests

Trump’s May 9 firing of FBI Director Comey was met with protests next day in different cities around the country by a range of groups, including around 300 people in front of the White House. Refuse Fascism in New York City led about 100 people in a protest at the Trump Tower in Manhattan (see below), and there were other Refuse Fascism protests in several cities. The Advisory Board of Refuse Fascism released a statement saying, “The question we pose to you, to ourselves as an organization whose purpose is to lead people to Refuse Fascism in the name of humanity, is this: will this be a pivotal moment in which we do act with determination to do all we can to move people—who are right now alarmed and outraged—to take to the streets to demand that this regime be driven from power?” And they called on people to protest every night until the Trump/Pence regime is driven out.

Protests are continuing, and here are some brief reports and pictures we have received:

Los Angeles: Refuse Fascism hit the streets of LA on Wednesday and Thursday, spreading the word on social media and calling on people who are outraged to get in the streets and stay in the streets until the fascists are driven out. On Wednesday 30 people, including representatives of different organizations, came to the Federal Building in downtown LA before marching to a busy freeway overpass and doing a banner drop. It also got important press coverage, including from Spanish TV news. On Thursday over a dozen people rallied in front of the Trump star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. People from all parts of the world and all over the U.S stopped to take pictures of the Trump star surrounded by NO! posters and signs, many disturbed about the fascist Trump/Pence regime, and some joining the protest or hooking up with Refuse Fascism. An amateur rapper duo walking by were supportive and donated to Refuse Fascism. Everyone was called on to come back every night until the Trump/Pence regime is driven from power.

Hawaii: About 25 people joined a protest against the firing of FBI Director Comey Thursday at the Federal Building in Honolulu. The protest was called by World Can't Wait-Hawai`i, in solidarity with the call sent out by Refuse Fascism.

Cleveland: On Thursday around 15 people from Refuse Fascism and Indivisible answered the call to act given the firing of James Comey and Trump/Pence regime's moves to further consolidate fascism. People marched through a cultural area of the city. People on the streets were glad we were out calling for "Trump and Pence Must Go!" Some signed on to become part of Refuse Fascism. Two women working at a Starbucks brought out coffee for everyone and joined up. In the spirit of "every day until he is gone," plans were made to be out on Friday and Saturday.

San Francisco Bay Area: On Wednesday, about 25 people rallied in front of the Federal Building in downtown Oakland, including a couple of people from the Berkeley Indivisible group and someone who drove quite a ways to get there, and some that joined on the spot. There were quite a few supportive honks from the passing cars, and a lot of support from the workers coming out of the Federal Building. On Thursday, about 20 people gathered at 5 pm at 14th and Broadway. At a certain point it was actually quite a scene, with a cacophony of cars honking, and about six or seven people joining on the spot. One Black woman took the bullhorn and spoke passionately about how Trump is destroying the democracy that protects different marginalized groups. A young white woman got really emotional on the bullhorn, starting with “fuck Trump,” and talking about how he’s hateful and divisive. Two young people came from an animal rights center. One woman came at the end, saying she saw the demonstration on TV news. At the end we made plans to be in San Francisco at Castro and Market the next day.

Boston: Around 75 people rallied outside the statehouse in Boston on May 10 in a Stand for Truth rally that had initially been called for June but was moved up in response to the firing of Comey. A number of those present grabbed up “NO!” posters and the Refuse Fascism Call to Action and liked the theme "In the Name of Humanity."