{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "user_comment": "I support your decision, I believe in change and hope you find just what it is that you are looking for. If your heart is free, the ground you stand on is liberated territory. Defend it. This feed allows you to read the posts from this site in any feed reader that supports the JSON Feed format. To add this feed to your reader, copy the following URL — https://crimethinc.com/feed.json — and add it your reader. For more info on this format: https://jsonfeed.org", "title": "CrimethInc. : building occupation", "description": "CrimethInc. ex-Workers’ Collective: Your ticket to a world free of charge", "home_page_url": "https://crimethinc.com", "feed_url": "https://crimethinc.com/feed.json", "next_url": "https://crimethinc.com/feed.json?page=2", "icon": "https://crimethinc.com/assets/icons/icon-600x600-29557d753a75cfd06b42bb2f162a925bb02e0cc3d92c61bed42718abba58775f.png", "favicon": "https://crimethinc.com/assets/icons/icon-70x70-09272eec03e5a3309fe3d4a6a612dc4a96b64ee3decbcad924e02c28ded9484e.png", "author": { "name": "CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective", "url": "https://crimethinc.com", "avatar": "https://crimethinc.com/assets/icons/icon-600x600-29557d753a75cfd06b42bb2f162a925bb02e0cc3d92c61bed42718abba58775f.png" }, "items": [ { "id": "https://crimethinc.com/2024/04/29/from-redwood-trees-to-olive-groves-the-commune-grows-a-statement-from-the-tree-occupation-at-cal-poly-humboldt", "url": "https://crimethinc.com/2024/04/29/from-redwood-trees-to-olive-groves-the-commune-grows-a-statement-from-the-tree-occupation-at-cal-poly-humboldt", "title": "From Redwood Trees to Olive Groves, the Commune Grows : A Statement from the Tree Occupation at Cal Poly Humboldt", "summary": "A statement from Gaza solidarity demonstrators who have established a tree occupation to hold territory at Cal Poly Humboldt.", "image": "https://cdn.crimethinc.com/assets/articles/2024/04/29/header.jpg", "banner_image": "https://cdn.crimethinc.com/assets/articles/2024/04/29/header.jpg", "date_published": "2024-04-29T22:45:49Z", "date_modified": "2024-09-10T03:55:59Z", "tags": [ "gaza", "california", "cal poly humboldt", "building occupation", "Occupy", "student movement", "encampment", "palestine" ], "content_html": "

Today—Monday, April 29, 2024—there are encampments and building occupations in solidarity with Gaza in place at dozens of universities around the United States, and they are beginning to appear elsewhere around the world. Police have already carried out a number of brutal raids targeting them, but in many cases, the protesters have come back, undeterred, or even faced down the police. One of the fiercest occupations has taken place at Cal Poly Humboldt, where students took over a building, survived a massive police assault, and then forced the police to retreat off campus.

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As of today, the occupation at Cal Poly Humboldt has held its ground for a week. The school has been shut down until graduation. Right now, local, state, and federal agencies are amassing forces to prepare to raid the encampment.

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At this critical moment, we received a statement from people who have established a tree occupation to hold territory at Cal Poly Humboldt. We present it along with pictures from the occupied university and a video of a participant in the Cal Poly occupation calling to address participants in an encampment at another university across the country.

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You can access a printable pdf of this text in zine form here.

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A participant in the Cal Poly occupation calls to address participants in an encampment at another university. We have blurred the video for the security of the protesters—but please listen to the audio.

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From Redwood Trees to Olive Groves, the Commune Grows

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We have heard the call to escalate in solidarity with Palestine, and we are answering: we have taken to the trees. 

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From where I sit, in the branches of a redwood tree, I have the ocean to my right and the forest to my left. Usually, it hurts to look at the cityscape, to see the colonial infrastructure remaking native lands according to its own ends. But today, I see these mission-style buildings covered in calls for a free Palestine and the return of Native homelands. I see a sprawling, ever-growing camp filled with people who are feeding and clothing each other, held by the protection of our barricades. I see medics keeping folks hydrated, kids playing, artists and musicians creating, gardens sprouting up, and everywhere the sense that a new world is being born. This vision is stoked by the militant flame of the brave occupiers, by the desire to defend it all—to push the cops out every time they attempt to harass us or pull down the barricades. 

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The success of our occupation thus far has come about as a consequence of our ability to adapt while refusing to back down. We learn from nature that diversity makes an ecosystem more resilient and vibrant, and the same is true in our movements. There is no one perspective, tactic, or voice in our camp. No one speaks for everyone. What brought us together was a shared revulsion for this genocide. What keeps us together is our commitment to escalation towards liberation, to upholding each other’s autonomy, and to nurturing lifeways together amid this struggle. 

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We recognize that a diversity of tactics is crucial for maintaining an offensive position. To expand our tactics, we have turned to our personal history of struggle against empire here in so-called Humboldt. Judi Bari, an environmental activist who was car-bombed and framed for her activity with EarthFirst!, spoke about the need to end the global capitalist machine in order to halt planetary destruction and oppression of all kinds. We concur. This tree sit is a love letter to these connections, to all those struggling to end this genocide, and to Palestinians worldwide. Among the great old trees, a tree sit is a sign of rebellious hope—hope as a way of choosing agency. It is an invitation to a new perspective on the world itself.

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This tree sit is also a love letter to Tortuguita. Tortuguita was 26 years old on January 18, 2023 when Georgia State Troopers murdered them in the Weelaunee Forest. At that time, they were defending the forest from the Cop City project. Funded by the likes of Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo, Delta Airlines, UPS, Home Depot, Equifax, Georgia Pacific, so on and so forth, Cop City is a deforestation project designed to build a massive mock city in which US police will train in urban warfare; Israeli Occupying Forces will be contracted to train them in the art of imposing apartheid. This is just one of many proposed cop cities across the country. The fight to free Palestine and the fight to free ourselves are intimately intwined. The military and police see these connections—and so must we. ​​​​​​​

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This connection, in conjunction with a knowledge of history and with our own experiences over the last week, have shown us that any struggle to put an end to genocide necessarily includes a struggle against the police themselves, just as putting an end to genocide means stopping extractive colonial capitalism, halting the causes of climate chaos, and putting an end to the ongoing imperial nightmare we live in.

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Police and the military are the ultimate threat wielded against anyone who fights effectively for a better world. We are inspired to see all the beautiful things that have flourished so spontaneously in just one week thanks to a few people being brave enough to create and defend a cop-free zone. We are not just working to destroy the nightmare of the world as it currently exists—we are also defending the seed of the world to come, defending a life worth living and sharing with others.

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There will be no end to these wars of empire if the struggles in “first world countries” don’t develop teeth and begin to embody solidarity and “land back” as more than symbolic gestures. We will not go back to normal. Normal means ignoring the genocide of Palestinians every day, while living miserable lives on a hamster wheel of labor that never made us happy in the first place. Normal means earning a paycheck and turning our backs on the 14,000+ Palestinian children murdered just since October 7. This occupation has shown that when you stop everything and get off the hamster wheel, what is waiting for you is community and endless possibilities. 

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We fight for the living, and we mourn the trail of dead that this empire of money and war has left in its path. We remember you, though there are too many to recount here, all of you who have died at the hands of this global empire—

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Haya Sharif Bakr Al-Batniji. George Floyd. Ibrahim Amma Saad Al-Qara. Sandra Bland. Sham Abdul Karim Ibrahim Al-Hato. Treyvon Martin. Hosni Mohamed Hosni Muhareb. Toypurina. Musk Omar Kamel Abu Rahma. Tortuguita. Adam Youssef Muhammad Al-Hila. Josiah Lawson. Zeina Hossam Jamil Al-Zaanen. David Chain. Sondos Ziyad Mahmoud Al-Azaib. Rayshard Brooks. Malik Youssef Omar Sharaf. Avalon. Mansour Hamada Monsour Sobh. Berta Isabel Caceres Flores. Marie Ihab Darwish Gouda. Fred Hampton. Zakaria Imad Abd Muheisen. Nex Benedict. Khalaf Fawzi Muhamma Al-Sawarka. Rachel Corrie. Shireen Abu Akleh. Al-Jarrah mahmoud Misbah Al-Khor.

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And so many more. We won’t let you down.

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\n\n" }, { "id": "https://crimethinc.com/2024/04/23/report-from-within-the-cal-poly-humboldt-occupation-the-occupation-of-siemens-hall", "url": "https://crimethinc.com/2024/04/23/report-from-within-the-cal-poly-humboldt-occupation-the-occupation-of-siemens-hall", "title": "Report from within the Cal Poly Humboldt Building Occupation : The Occupation of Siemens Hall", "summary": "Students at Cal Poly Humboldt campus in Arcata, California occupied a building in solidarity with Gaza, precipitating a showdown with police.", "image": "https://cdn.crimethinc.com/assets/articles/2024/04/23/header.jpg", "banner_image": "https://cdn.crimethinc.com/assets/articles/2024/04/23/header.jpg", "date_published": "2024-04-23T19:40:37Z", "date_modified": "2024-09-10T03:55:59Z", "tags": [ "gaza", "palestine", "california", "building occupation", "student protest" ], "content_html": "

On April 22, 2024, inspired by the resilience of the Gaza solidarity encampment at Columbia University and other demonstrations around the country, students at Cal Poly Humboldt campus in Arcata, California occupied a building in solidarity with Palestinians, precipitating a showdown with police from throughout the region. In the following report, participants in the occupation describe what took place and what they learned.

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This represented a significant escalation in the current wave of student demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine. As the local organization Humboldt for Palestine announced, “this was not a protest organized by Humboldt for Palestine, but an organic CPH student organizing movement.”

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After an hours-long standoff, local media reported that the police were forced to withdraw:

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10:50 pm: All law enforcement have left from in front of the building and appear to be leaving the campus. Scanner traffic appears to confirm that law enforcement has left the scene. One officer said that law enforcement is being “disbanded.” Students are currently pouring in and out of the occupied building.

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Cal Poly Humboldt remains shut down through at least tomorrow, according to the administration.

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You can read more about the recent history of building occupations as a tactic in student organizing here.

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Barricades around Siemens Hall.

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Report from within the Cal Poly Humboldt Occupation

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On Monday, April 22, a group of 45 students, alumni, and community members occupied Siemens Hall on the Cal Poly Humboldt Campus in the far northern coast of California in solidarity with those facing genocide in Gaza.

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Within an hour, campus police attempted to negotiate with the occupiers, who stood strong and refused to exit the building. Soon after, police from every department in the county showed up—including a helicopter, K-9 units, and off-duty police. Students responded by swarming them.

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The cops’ initial plan to carry out a mass arrest was thwarted by a series of clashes both inside and outside the building. The occupiers beat back police advances, despite facing brutality unlike anything we have seen over the last decade of struggle in Humboldt County. It is important to note that the police used both batons and shields as weapons to brutalize protesters; in the hands of police, any tool is a weapon.

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Barricades around Siemens Hall.

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Police arrested two people and dragged them out of the building by their hair; they inflicted multiple cranial lacerations on another person, necessitating a trip to the hospital and several staples. Many more people were left with head injuries and at least one with a concussion.

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During the clashes, police drove a university truck into the crowd, pushing protestors toward the riot line. Yet despite this brutality, it became increasingly apparent that the police were completely unprepared to face down the ferocity and intelligence of the student occupiers. The police were physically repelled from Siemens Hall and massive barricades were erected out of objects from within the building including chairs, desks, trash cans, and doors that had been removed from their hinges.

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The police surrounded the occupied building, and a large crowd of students, faculty, and other community members surrounded them, chanting “De-escalate by leaving!” and “People power! We are stronger!” among other chants.

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After a six-hour standoff, the police packed up and went home. Hundreds of students rushed into the building and joyously embraced occupiers. The police-imposed division collapsed and we achieved the upper hand. The university has declared a three day lock down. For us, this is only the beginning.

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Footage showing police withdrawing from Cal Poly Humboldt campus on the night of April 22, 2024.

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This communiqué comes from within the occupation. We would like to pass on a number of lessons that we have learned.

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1. Out of the quads, into the buildings.

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It’s clear that in order for this crisis to develop further, student occupations should take buildings whenever possible. The first action of the police was to instruct the occupiers to move to the quad. In saying this, they showed that we can wield the most power by occupying the spaces where classes are held and administrators have offices. In addition, buildings on campus are filled with everything you might need to construct barricades and protect an occupation.

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2. If you build it, they will come.

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It only took a small number of students to occupy Siemens Hall. Don’t be afraid to hold your ground. This movement is strong. Seemingly out of nowhere, hundreds if not thousands will come to support you. Importantly, outside crowds were able to impede the police by dividing their attention. The cops found themselves kettled and completely unsure of where to turn. Someone set up a barbecue—free hotdogs fueled the crowd.

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3. The pro-Palestinian movement must be a movement against the police.

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At every step, police will not hesitate to brutalize those who call for an end to genocide in Palestine. In Gaza, Palestinians face the Israeli military; in the United States, we face the police. We must recognize that these forces are one and the same: they are all foot soldiers of empire.

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4. Listen! organizer.

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We need not wait for the permission of professional activists to set the terms of struggle. Student occupiers acted decisively to take the building without the backing of any established organizations. Collectively, we found we had the skills, experience, and creativity needed to carry out our action. While student organizations often recommend starting with a list of achievable demands and entering into endless negotiations with administrators, our occupation held one demand for six hours: that the police leave campus.

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5. Be prepared.

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Our town is somewhat sleepy. We underestimated the scale of police repression we would face. Four years after the George Floyd Uprising, we should heed its lessons. It is best to come to all demonstrations with goggles, gas masks, laser pointers, and shields. You never know what a casual sleepover might become.

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Footage showing police withdrawing from Cal Poly Humboldt campus on the night of April 22, 2024.

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Further Resources

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Click on the image to print a zine version of this article.

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