#55: The J20 Protests and Beyond: Anarchists Bring in the Trump Era

January 20th, 2017 saw perhaps the fiercest resistance to ever take place at an American presidential inauguration. Episode 55 of The Ex-Worker podcast surveys the day’s momentous protests in DC and beyond, mass media reactions to anarchist resistance, and lessons for the future of radical protest. We begin with an interview with an organizer from Disrupt J20, evaluating the blockades, marches, and disruptions, commenting on state and right-wing repression, reflecting on the spokescouncil model, and sharing visions for the future, as well as info on how to support the 200-plus comrades arrested in the streets that day. Our friends at Agency, an anarchist media relations project, share a detailed report on mass media coverage of the demonstrations and of anarchists and anarchism over the past weeks, including plenty of hilarious quotes and clips. From an anonymous arrestee from DC’s J20 protests, we offer an analysis of how to make the best of mass arrests. We then share reports from a few of the hundreds of protests and actions that took place outside of Washington, DC on January 20th, including arrests leading to serious charges against anarchists in New Orleans and the shooting of an antifascist protestor in Seattle. The episode wraps up with an analysis about how to “Take the Offensive: Moving from Protest to Resistance”. All this, plus news, prisoner birthdays, updates from international struggles, and plenty more!

-------SHOW NOTES------

• Table of Contents:
  • Introduction {0:01}
  • The Hot Wire {6:55}
  • Interview with Disrupt J20 Organizer {12:30}
  • Legal Support for DC J20 Arrestees{31:56}
  • Agency on Anarchists in the Mass Media {35:21}
  • “Making the Best of Mass Arrests: 12 Lessons from the Kettle During the J20 Protests” {1:04:02}
  • J20 Protests Beyond Washington, DC {1:25:55}
  • “Take the Offensive: Moving from Protest to Resistance” {1:42:15}
  • International Updates and Calls for Solidarity {1:54:32} Prisoner Birthdays {2:00:38}
  • Conclusion {2:01:27}
• Support the folks arrested in the streets on January 20th at the counter-inaugural protests! Check out this video produced by SubMedia that lays out the situation, and donate to the bail and legal support funds at disruptj20.org/legal-fund/.
• We shared two recently published texts in this episode: “Making the Best of Mass Arrests: 12 Lessons from the Kettle During the J20 Protests”, and “Take the Offensive: Moving from Protest to Resistance”. We also shared an excerpt from Disrupt J20’s blog post, "Fuck Yeah We Disrupted It!
• Our friends over at Agency, an anarchist media relations project, produced the comprehensive overview of mass media coverage of anarchism on J20 and beyond. Stay posted to their site for updates on anarchist appearances in the mass media, and drop them a line if you’re interested in being part of their Not Just In the Streets: Anarchists in the Media speaker’s bureau.
• Fifteen people identified in the mass media as anarchists face serious charges after a January 20th march in New Orleans. Check out this online fundraiser for New Orleans J20 arrestees.
• For reflections on the shooting of an anarchist protestor by a right-wing troll in Seattle, check out the CrimethInc. piece “What Counts As Violence? Why the Right Can Shoot Us Now”, which appeared shortly after the shooting. Supporters from the IWW have put up a fundraising page to raise money for the medical costs of our injured comrade; we’ve got the link posted on our website. For links to all the the reportbacks we cited during the “J20 Beyond DC” section, check the full transcript.
• Comrades from the Greek anarchist radio project Radio Fragmata have announced a new initiative of solidarity for anarchist and anti-authoritarian prisoners; to support or find out more, contact them at radiofragmata[at]espiv[dot]net.
• Comrades from the Hambacher Forest occupation in Germany have issued a call for supporters around the world to prepare an anti-repression response](http://hambachforest.blogsport.de/2017/02/09/call-for-anti-repression-response/) at German embassies and offices of the energy corporation RWE, in case of an anticipated eviction of forest tree sits and a meadow encampment. To learn more about the years-long struggle to defend one of Germany’s ancient forests against brown coal mining, visit HambachForest.blogsport.de, or listen to our audio documentary about the occupation in Episode 37.
• The G20 summit will be meeting in Hamburg, Germany; see this video on our website made by activists who are planning to disrupt it for info.
• Folks at the ZAD are raising funds for an herbal medicine clinic at the anti-airport occupation in western France. Email plantesmedicinaleszad[at]riseup[dot]net for more info. To hear an interview with a resident of the ZAD, check out Episode 14 on squatting.
• Recent and upcoming prisoner birthdays: Veronza Bowers, Jr. 35316–136 USP Atlanta Post Office Box 150160 Atlanta, Georgia 30315 {February 4th} Kamau Sadiki (Freddie Hilton) #0001150688 Augusta State Medical Prison, Building 13A–2 E7 3001 Gordon Highway Grovetown, Georgia 30813 Address envelope to Freddie Hilton, address card to Kamau {February 19th} Oso Blanco (Byron Chubbuck) #07909–051 USP Hazelton Post Office Box 2000 Bruceton Mills, WV 26525 Address envelope to Byron Chubbuck, address card to Oso Blanco {February 26th} Reverend Joy Powell #07G0632 Bedford Hills CF Post Office Box 1000 Bedford Hills, New York 10507–2499 {March 5th}