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• COPS GREG EDWARDS, 31 BANGOR, MAINE During the speeches outside the public library, they were talking at the bottom of the hill and people were standing on the top, going up the hill. And at the very top there was a very menacing kid in a patriotic clown mask with an assault rifle watching over us for like 35 minutes. We’re in an open-carry state so he was technically not doing anything wrong. Except the Bangor PD was there, having a conversation with him the whole time, like within five feet of him the whole time, which is good. I mean, we were at an event disparaging—not disparaging but, like, calling for major reforms and calling for the defunding of the police—but then also because of America, I’m glad somebody with authority is standing there to protect us from some menacing white kid with an oversized gun. DJUAN WASH, 36 WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS They were targeting Porche [a fellow organizer in Kenosha], at one point, and they sent two plants to her front yard. I told her not to engage with them because I knew that it was a setup. Prior to me pulling up on scene, thirteen cars full of Trump’s secret police hopped out of their cars to harass her. And later that night, they were watching where we were staging at, and because the curfew was in effect, we wanted to make sure that Porche was safe. And not even five minutes after I left, I was pulled over, snatched out of the car. I was trying to call someone to notify them what was going on. And they kept yelling, “Stop resisting, stop resisting, stop resisting”—even though I was literally just standing there. They had three people that had their hands on my arms. So I mean, I wasn’t resisting, I was literally laughing at them. And just, you know, explaining how fucking ridiculous—excuse my French—just how ridiculous this entire situation was. Sat on the curb. And one of the 71
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federal marshals told me, you know, “This is what it looks like when the federal government shows up to help.” None of them would tell me who was in charge of the scene, whether it was the local people or the federal government. One of the local cops called me an asshole. Because I was explaining to them—you know, I said, “You guys must not love the Constitution like y’all claim y’all do.” TRISTAN TAYLOR, 37 DETROIT I remember going down to check on the situation and having this police officer… I was with a friend who was white, who I’ve known for years, who lives in a nearby city. There was a white police officer that said to us, “Get the fuck over there. Don’t come this way.” We were like, “Okay.” And he said to my friend, “What are you doing here, white boy? You don’t even live here.” And I said to him, “Oh, because you live here?” Because over 70 percent of the police department in Detroit live outside the city. Then I said some smart-aleck remark, and he says, “Why are you walking away?” I was like, “’Cause you told us to.” And he’s like, “Yeah but you’re talking shit while you’re walking away.” And he started talking about my shoes. He says they’re like the shoes that a third-grader would wear. And I thought, “Wow. Isn’t it interesting that this police officer is, in reality, trying to get me to react.” And being so personally vile and petty, and of course, as he’s having this exchange with me, I see police in riot gear. And one officer in particular is using the baton and hitting his shield and hitting his helmet. And they just looked like they were ready for the battle. And I was like, “Oh, okay. So these police, they mean to do damage.” SYLVIE THODE, 21 NEW YORK CITY As a white woman, I’ll never quite understand how it feels to walk in the street and be immediately afraid of a police officer when you see them. That’s not the experience I had growing up. When I was first taking the subway alone my parents would always say, “If you feel unsafe, find a police officer.” 72

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COPS

GREG EDWARDS, 31

BANGOR, MAINE

During the speeches outside the public library, they were talking at the bottom of the hill and people were standing on the top, going up the hill. And at the very top there was a very menacing kid in a patriotic clown mask with an assault rifle watching over us for like 35 minutes. We’re in an open-carry state so he was technically not doing anything wrong. Except the Bangor PD was there, having a conversation with him the whole time, like within five feet of him the whole time, which is good. I mean, we were at an event disparaging—not disparaging but, like, calling for major reforms and calling for the defunding of the police—but then also because of America, I’m glad somebody with authority is standing there to protect us from some menacing white kid with an oversized gun.

DJUAN WASH, 36 WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS

They were targeting Porche [a fellow organizer in Kenosha], at one point, and they sent two plants to her front yard. I told her not to engage with them because I knew that it was a setup. Prior to me pulling up on scene, thirteen cars full of Trump’s secret police hopped out of their cars to harass her. And later that night, they were watching where we were staging at, and because the curfew was in effect, we wanted to make sure that Porche was safe. And not even five minutes after I left, I was pulled over, snatched out of the car. I was trying to call someone to notify them what was going on. And they kept yelling, “Stop resisting, stop resisting, stop resisting”—even though I was literally just standing there. They had three people that had their hands on my arms. So I mean, I wasn’t resisting, I was literally laughing at them. And just, you know, explaining how fucking ridiculous—excuse my French—just how ridiculous this entire situation was. Sat on the curb. And one of the

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