In August 2023, 61 people connected to Stop Cop City received RICO indictments, facing years in prison. Their “crimes”? Protesting, bailing people out of jail, posting online, distributing flyers, and having anarchist politics.
Though this may set a dangerous precedent for criminalizing all resistance in the U.S., history reminds us that this isn’t new.
The Outside Agitator Argument
Officials attempted to discredit Defend the Atlanta Forest participants by calling them “outside agitators.” The media called Freedom Riders the same in the 60s.
But, like Atlanta’s protesters, many out-of-state Riders were from the South, knew loved ones there, or were simply acting in empathy and solidarity.
Anarchism and Terror
Anarchism threatens governmental authority because it calls out how governments oppress us. So, getting labeled a “terrorist” has been used to discredit Black anarchists like Lucy Parsons, Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, and Martin Sostre.
RICO Targeting Black Activists
Members of the Black Liberation Army, like Mutulu Shakur, also faced RICO convictions in the 80s, were accused of murders, robberies, and kidnappings to set Assata Shakur’s prison escape in motion.
These are all different moments in history, but one thing remains the same: As many times as they’ve criminalized Black resistance to intimidate us, our resistance has only grown. It didn’t end with the Freedom Riders, Black anarchists, or the Black Liberation Army. And it won’t end now.