Protesting is a FELONY in Tennessee now…Facism at it’s finest (x)
I’m sorry, but people need to know this. This is LITERALLY the most blatant telltale sign of totalitarianism and this needs to be spread like wildfire. DO NOT LOOK AWAY.
Y'all, I live here, and this is not a fucking joke.
Peaceful protesters had been at the People’s Plaza/Ida B. Wells Plaza for 61 days. The state and the police repeatedly tried to silence them, strip them of their resources, create and enact laws against them, and demonize them. I’ve stood face to face with the cops at this plaza for hours, and the entire time, everyone was peaceful. I’ve been surrounded by cops in riot gear on all four sides with these protesters, and still, everyone was peaceful. No matter what, they remain peaceful. Yet I’ve seen and read so many stories about how these protesters have been arrested on bullshit, made-up charges and have witnessed them be brutalized over and over again. I’ve seen so many people with chipped teeth, lung problems, scars, gashes, head trauma, bruises, sprains and fractures, concussions, and more all because of these pigs. I’ve read stories from protesters about how their experiences at the Plaza have triggered panic attacks, PTSD, psychosis, dissociation, and more and how some had been forcibly medicated/tranquilized by police without their consent. I’ve seen people get robbed of their personal items by these pigs, one cop going so far as to rob a man of his medications that he needed to live. I’ve seen and read about cops ripping masks off protesters and sexually harassing them. I’ve seen the cops speed down the road and almost hit protesters multiple times. I’ve read stories from protesters about how they’d been detained for hours and hours with several other people and without masks or how they, especially Black female protesters, had been detained in solitary for hours. And most of those people required medical attention, which they didn’t receive. A GIRL WITH ASTHMA ALMOST DIED BECAUSE THE COPS RELEASED A GAS SIMILAR TO TEAR GAS NEXT TO HER CELL AND IGNORED HER CRIES FOR HELP AND RESPONDED BY PUTTING HER IN SOLITARY AND TAUNTING HER INSTEAD OF PROVIDING MEDICAL ATTENTION, FFS!!
Over 200 arrests had been made during this 61-day occupation. The state tried to get a judge to allow 24/7 GPS-monitoring of a lead activist of the movement. Officers have kicked, punched, sexually harassed, dragged, hospitalized, tear-gassed, zip-tied, arrested, taunted, and brutalized protesters during this occupation. Protesters have held countless vigils and peaceful marches and have literally put their blood, sweat, and tears into this cause. All we wanted was for the governor to meet with the people to discuss removing Confederate monuments and addressing police violence, and this is what protesters were met with instead. And now they’ve made it illegal for us to even fight against their brutality and for our rights to freely exist while Black and brown.
This is not okay. This is totally and completely unconstitutional. Do not ignore this. Do not let this slip by. Do not let them win. Please help us fight all of this injustice. Our lives matter. Black lives fucking matter.
local news sources have some of the facts on the bill insight, I really ask that you read how heinous this is through an article written here.
some highlights:
Under the bill now going to the governor, anyone committing “extremely offensive or provocative” physical contact with police — that can include spitting — could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, bringing a mandatory 30-day sentence and $5,000 fine.
Other actions include beefed-up charges for disrupting a meeting or obstructing a highway or street, which would be Class A misdemeanors with mandatory 12-hour jail holds before a person could be released.
And the bill goes after demonstrators seeking to camp out on state property, making it illegal for them to be there from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. …. [or be charged with] a felony with up to a year imprisonment.
Sen. John Stevens … said they deserve losing their right to vote.
