Brandon Johnson has joined the chorus of Democratic Party voices claiming that they will stand up to the worst excesses of Donald Trump, so why is he engaging in a Trumpian prosecution of his political critics? 

More than three months have passed since Chicago hosted the Death and Nakba Coronation (DNC). Facing a number of local crises, including a massive budget deficit, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson saw fit to spend tens of millions of dollars, militarizing the city, occupying parts of the near west side, and brutally repressing protests, to ensure that the carnival of genocide supporters and B-list rappers could go on undisturbed. While Johnson claims that this was the, “Best Democratic National Convention”, more than 40 people are still facing charges for righteously protesting the DNC. The majority of those charges are being pursued by City of Chicago prosecutors, working directly under Johnson. 

So why is Brandon Johnson, the supposedly progressive mayor, still pursuing charges against anti-DNC protesters, especially people accused of being at the Behind Enemy Lines 8/20 protest? 

– Is it because Behind Enemy Lines refused to collaborate with the Chicago Police Department and insisted on our right and responsibility to protest without permits or collaborating with chief Pig Larry Snelling? 

– Is it because Behind Enemy Lines has continued to expose that Johnson falls in line with US imperialism, including in his welcoming of the DNC and support for Killer Kamala? 

– Is it because, unlike Johnson’s political allies, Behind Enemy Lines refuses the nonsense pageantry of yellow vest peace policing and collaborationism? 

– is it because our attempt to actually confront the convention embarrassed Johnson, and exposed that the real purpose of the CPD and outside police agencies that he invited was to repress and suppress dissent?

Unlike Brandon Johnson’s handpicked pig superintendent Larry Snelling, we don’t pretend to be mind readers. Johnson could simply hate us, or be scratching the backs of the killer cops in the CPD. We do know that no one who was arrested at the DNC did anything morally or politically wrong, and that stands diametrically opposed to Brandon Johnson who welcomed that grotesque circus. Whether it’s popular or not, it remains a critical task to defend each and every person arrested protesting for Palestine, as part of a larger effort to resist the bipartisan crackdown on free expression and justified protest that Brandon Johnson has gleefully joined in on. 

Drop all the charges against DNC protesters!
It’s right to rebel against genocide!