On January 3rd, community organizer and anti war activist Jessica Plichta was targeted for arrest during a media interview with WZZM after speaking at a rally in solidarity with Venezuela.

More than 150 people peacefully marched through the sleepy, snowy streets of Grand Rapids Saturday afternoon to exercise their sacred right to free speech after a spirited rally.

Rather than help hold traffic for the few cars that were downtown, four GRPD cruisers blared Rumbler sirens and attempted to veer into the marchers. The march took approximately 15 minutes, rounding a total of 3 city blocks - an unnecessarily excessive display from GRPD.

Given it was the only arrest and GRPD interrogated Plichta specifically about known organizers, it is clear they are creating a campaign of repression against political speech in Grand Rapids.

This is not news to anyone who has organized for progressive causes in west Michigan: time honored, peaceful civil disobedience tactics are criminalized, and tax payer dollars are wasted in the courts. By slapping protestors with the blanket misdemeanor "failure to obey the lawful order of a PO," GRPD is allowed to bypass the constitution - and protestors risk jail time for expressing their free speech rights.

In a time of increasing violence and political division, we need to create systems of support now more than ever. In the past two years, the struggle for Palestinian liberation has brought a resurgence of energy to the antiwar movement, and in that time, 7 anti-war activists have been arrested in Grand Rapids for peaceful civil disobedience.

West Michigan is waking up to the egregious acts of GRPD, from the outright murder of several young men since Patrick Lyoya in 2022, to harsh repression of BIPOC activists, and the relentless targeting of peace organizers. In cities across the country - cities much larger than Grand Rapids - protests happen without harassment from the police, and without incident in the streets.

But not in Grand Rapids. Why?

Jessica needs our support in hiring a legal team to fight her charges. We are fundraising to hire her a lawyer and to build the protest legal fund here in Grand Rapids. While the Michigan Solidarity Bail Fund helps bond protestors out of jail, affordable legal resources to navigate charges are strained beyond capacity.

The Institute for Global Education (501c3) is home to many grassroots community groups fighting against war and political repression, and for unions and people power.

Our goal of $10k will allow us to create a program to cover legal retainers for movement builders, including Jessica. With your help, we can create a sustainable fund that will offer protestors leading our most important movements for justice a safety net in the years to come.