Philadelphia: Response to police attack on Palestine rally

The following is a statement issued by the Philly Palestine Coalition in response to police attacks on their July 4th action:

On July 4th, the Philly Palestine Coalition sought to exercise their right to free speech by organizing a rally and march for Gaza and Palestine against the U.S.-Israeli empire. From the very beginning, the Philadelphia police intended to agitate and make the march as complicated and unsafe as possible for the protesters. At the start of our rally, the PPD immediately began exercising force and infringing on our right to protest. Officers attempted to stop the march by making threats for arrests and fines if a vehicle was used. The sheer amount of police presence indicated to all of us protesting that Mayor Cherelle Parker had clearly recentered her priorities around brutalizing anti-genocide protesters.

While 1,000+ people marched from Rittenhouse to City Hall, protesters stopped at BNY Mellon to call out their millions of dollars in investments to Elbit Systems, one of the main weapon corporations that supply the genocidal entity. The rally arrived at City Hall, and as speakers were wrapping up, an autonomous group took part in a First Amendment protected right, as illustrated and confirmed by Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989) — and sought to burn Israeli and U.S. flags — which have become the symbol of genocide, proxy wars, mass killings and war crimes.

We reaffirm, July 4th is an imperialist holiday, where the U.S. seeks to shove its red, white and blue stars and stripes down the throats of every U.S. citizen. We have every right to protest this empire, and those who choose to burn the stars and stripes have every right to do so too. We, as the PPC, do not police how people choose to protest; we do not police language, and we do not police dissent. Although we had no prior knowledge of the autonomous group who carried out this action, we stand firmly in solidarity with them against the western imperial core. 

Once the flags were burned, in order to keep protesters safe, organizers issued a disbursal warning. While we were issuing this warning and running through the general list of safety precautions, the PPD began closing in on the crowd. At this point, we were informed that the PPD was given the green light to use excessive force. Police began to violently attack, brutalize and arrest protesters who were trying to peacefully disburse. Two protesters were left bleeding and hospitalized as a result of the PPD’s egregious brutality, and eight more were arrested.  As of 8 p.m. today [July 5], all our comrades have been released.

We reiterate that protesters exercised their First Amendment right, whether it was to march down the streets of Philly or burn the flag of the empire. This is a right granted and reaffirmed by the very own twisted carceral and legal system that the PPD seeks to exploit against us. Palestinians are on day 272 of this genocide, and it is only integral to the principles of accountability, justice and humanity to protest the very essence of this country, in the face of ignorant patriotism. We can no longer afford to play the game of optics. This is a matter of life and death and of a moral compass.