Beltway Area Indymedia

It was damned hairy going up against almost 30 Nazis with just 7 or 8 anti-racist activsts!

WHERE WERE YOU DC? Only 7 or 8 people bothered to show up and confront the National Alliance as they protested the 5 year sentence of one of their own in Germany for Holocaust denial.

Some of the major Nazis were also no-shows. No David Duke, no BW, etc. Still, 30 Nazis is 30 too many, especially in light of recent far-right violence in the DC area.

On May 4 (the same day that a member of the MinuteKlan was ordered held without bond in DC on weapons charges), a set fire burned the porch off the Gaithersburg day labor center. Fire officials ruled it arson after finding evidence at the scene of flammable liquids. It is virtually certain that this is the work of an anti-immigrant hate group.

A man arrested for assaulting immigrants' rights demonstrators is said to be due in DC Superior Court, located at 500 Indiana Avenue NW (Judiciary Square Metro) on Friday. The man, identified as Tyler J. Froatz, Jr., was identified in a Washington Times article last year as a member of the Herndon Minutemen, the Herndon chapter of the notorious, racist group, the Minuteman Project.

That man with the flare gun and machete that was arrested near the Mayday immigration rally has been identifed by NBC-TV4 as Tyler J. Froatz Jr., age 24. His home, an apartment unit in 5308 8th st NW was stormed by police-who recovered many rifles, several bows, many swords, and what was earlier decribed as a "grenade", now as a replica grenade along with a replica grenade launcher.

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Colombian President Uribe,a US trained imperialist thug, visited DC on May 2 to push the embattled US-Colombia Free Trade area. He was over an hour late to his event at 1333 H st-and was confronted in person, face to face, when he arrived!

An estimated 200 protestors were on hand, and at first it appeared he would do a Tony the Rat and try to wait everyone out. Finally he arrived-and his offer to meet a delegation of three people was rebuffed.

In a sanctuary city, police and city agencies are prohibited by law from asking anyone's immigration status or cooperating in any way with ICE. Takoma Park was declared such a sanctuary during the war in El Salvador, for instance.
Immigrants and their supporters held a rally and march out of Malcolm X Park on Mayday, May 1st, to demad and end to ICE's raids, the defeat of Bush's enforcement and guest worker immigration bill(STRIVE), and for DC to be declared a Sanctuary City.

(AUDIO: 5 min 36 seconds)

(Audio: 2 min 51 seconds)
Immigrants and supporters of immigrant rights are fasting from April 28(today) until May 1 9Am to 9PM in the park at Mt Pleasant st and Park Road. Here are two interviews with participants.

The fast is an expression of outrage at the terrorism of ICE, whose raids are dividing families and sowing terror coast to coast.

(AUDIO 5 min 8 seconds)
The Coalition of Immokalee Farmworkers vowed "Burger King is next" after McDonald's agreed to pay a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked. On April 28 CIW supporters delivered on this in many cities-including right here in DC at 5th and G sts.

Protest chants and songs used a lot of imagery of toppling royalty, including "Down with the King-off with his head!" This of course is in response to Burger King's "Kingly" image.

(Audio: 3 min 24 seconds)
All over the US, people held gatherings demanding that Bush be impeached. One was held in DC at the base of the Washington Monument, where several hundred people sat down in positions spelling the word "Impeach!"

Audio contains an intro set to the "peaches" song(for ImPEACHment),several interviews, a Code Pink impeachment song, and Code Pink's chant demanding "Fire the Liar-Impeach Bush!"

Photo courtesy of Isis at www.isisimagery.com

(Audio: 3 min 57 seconds)
At a little after noon on April 26, protesters from many antiwar groups staged a noisy, disruptive joint action inside the Hart senate office building. Protesters demanded NO funding for the war on any terms-and the impeachment of Bush and Cheney!

As things began, cops were busy chasing what looked like the usual protests and the usual protesters inside the Hart building. On the way in, one cop even asked "uniformed" Code Pink activists if they were expecting "a short day."