US Human Rights Network Blog
TAKE ACTION: Help protestors who have been detained + Member survey
Jun 1, 2020This has been an overwhelming weekend for many of us. Many people have faced violence, brutality, arrest, detention, and more. We are with you and we are here to support you. Over the next few days we’ll be gathering information on how USHRN can best support you during this historic time -- if you are an active USHRN member, please fill out this short survey to report on what you are seeing on the streets of your city, and what you need right now.
Here is a list of priority actions that you can take today to help protestors and community organizers:
- Donate your dollars to one of the local BIPOC-led Minneapolis organizations featured on this list; support underfunded groups leading the Minneapolis Uprising.
- If you need national support to release protestors from detention in your city, or another action related to the detention/targeting of a member of your organization or community during the protests, please email the information to us at member@ushrnetwork.org with the subject “Protest Action + your city”. Include a maximum of one call-to-action image that we can share. We’ve created this blog post which will be regularly updated with actions to take to help your fellow USHRN members. Please visit this link for a list of ways to take action remotely.
- ICE and police are working together to exploit the protests as an opportunity to target and detain undocumented activists. Help us advocate for the release of multiple people in Phoenix, AZ who were detained this weekend. At least 3 people were arrested and transferred into ICE custody; they are now facing transfer to Eloy Detention Center where there have already been 19 reported cases of COVID-19. We demand the release of protestors detained by ICE. Protestors should not be held in jails or ICE detention during a pandemic.
a) Call ICE Field Director Jesse Williams at (602)766-7030, press 1, then 9, and leave a message asking for Williams to allow the protestors detained this weekend to stay with their community and family; they must not be transferred to Eloy where they face the danger of contracting COVID-19.
b) Send an email to phoenix.outreach@ice.dhs.gov with the same message. - Contribute to local bail support funds in your community to protect community activists as they protest and demand justice. Dozens of cities across the US have organized one or multiple bail support funds via community bail fund organizations, Black Lives Matter, and other community organizations. Do an online search for “Bail support fund” or “Protest bail/bond fund” + your city. Contribute today to free your community’s activists.
- Get to know your local National Lawyers’ Guild. Some local NLG chapters operate Legal Support Hotlines. If you’re planning an action with a high risk of arrest, contact your local NLG chapter ahead of time if you’d like to request Legal Observers or other forms of demonstration support. If you know someone who has been arrested at a political demonstration, you can call legal support hotlines in the following areas (write the number on your body ahead of future protests). If your region is not listed here, search online for your local NLG arrest hotline.
Austin, TX: (512) 817-4254
Buffalo, NY: (716) 332-4658
Central Pennsylvania: (717) 686-9989
Chicago, IL: (Update: 5/30/20: “If you or someone you know has been arrested and needs a lawyer to visit them in police custody, contact the Cook County Public Defender at 1-844-817-4448. If you or someone you know has been criminally charged and needs legal representation in court, call the NLG-Chicago at 773.309.1198.
Cleveland, OH: (216) 5050-NLG [654]
Detroit, MI: (313) 925-2626
Eugene, OR: (541) 687-9180, run by the Civil Liberties Defense Center
Georgia: (678) 902-JAIL
Houston, TX: (512) 975-5880
Idaho: (208) 991-4324
Los Angeles, CA: (310) 313-3700 / arrests@nlg-la.org
Madison, WI: (608) 520-0654
Massachusetts: (617) 431-6626
Minnesota: (612) 444-2654
New Hampshire: (802) 417-2173
New Jersey: (908) 818-0002
New York City: (212) 679-6018
North Carolina: (919) 408-7569
Pittsburgh, PA: (412) 212-6753
Portland, OR: (503) 902-5340
Sacramento, CA: (916) 500-4654
San Francisco/Bay Area, CA: Demo Public Line – (415) 909-4NLG; Demo Jail Line – (415) 285-1011
St. Louis, MO: (314) 312-0836.
Seattle, WA: (206) 658-7963
Vermont: (802) 417-2173
Washington, DC: Operated by Law for Black Lives: (202) 888 1731
Thank you for supporting activists in your community and nationally.
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