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Protest vs. Trump in Houston, one jailed

By Fabian Van Onzin

Houston, TX – Dozens of people marched through downtown for the third night of protests, Nov. 12, against Donald Trump. They began with a few speeches in Market Square Park, and then marched to the jailhouse where one of the activists who was arrested Nov. 10 was still being held. They chanted outside of the jailhouse, “Free Shere, free Shere!” and after about 20 minutes, she was released.

She gave a speech denouncing the repressiveness of the police, and then joined the march. They marched through downtown chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.” They stopped at every bar and night club so that everyone in downtown could hear them.

The police were being more aggressive that evening, with dozens of police horses and cops with batons. During the protest, there was an argument with a Trump protester near a bar, and the police on horseback rushed to defend the Trump backer. A few protesters were trampled by the horses, one of whom was a young child. The child was smashed into a metal table and injured.

Towards the end of the march, a Trump supporter assaulted one of the protesters. The cops rushed to defend the Trump supporter, and then arrested the protester, charging her with 'disorderly conduct'. While the police only arrested one person, they were threatening to arrest multiple people.

Rachel Dawlish, a student at the University of Houston, said, “The incredible repressiveness of the police is an indication of the brutality that is to come. This is Trump's America: a society ruled by a repressive state that silences all opposition. We refuse to allow Trump's thugs to silence us, and we will be out here every week in order to prepare against the offensive that is to come.”

The protest ended with a unity clap and chants of “All power to the people!” The demonstration was organized by the Peoples New Black Panther Party and Students for a Democratic Society. Students at the University of Houston are planning to walk out next week, and more protests are scheduled.

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