“A badge or a warrant card does not guarantee that those acting with it will behave morally or legally. Men are being recruited and hired who are drawn to power and not public service.”
That’s part of what I said in Trafalgar Square on Monday, January 26, after being asked to speak at a Solidarity with Minneapolis rally organised by Stand Up to Racism.
Public speaking can be daunting in a conference room, let alone outside in central London talking about the government of your home country murdering its own citizens and giving every sign of turning into a fascist regime. Talking too about how some people would love to see those same tactics brought here to Britain.
The responsibility of it all weighed on me. If people are leaving their warm homes to come out on a cold January night, what you say needs to resonate. You need to fire them up, make them feel hope and power that the cumulative mass of us is able to impact change.
But, I was nervous. I’m intimately familiar with the risks of being kettled and arrested by the Metropolitan Police for exercising my right to protest. And, if I’m really honest, I was scared my voice was going to crack and I would just end up sobbing. But the people wouldn’t be coming to see me cry.
I spent Monday morning writing the speech. Originally, I included bits about boycotting America hosting the World Cup, I had a whole section about the Renee Good vigil the prior week that I wrote about here. I had some bits about Mark Carney’s Davos remarks and about the 3.5% theory, which says that if 3.5% of the population engages in active peaceful protest, regimes fall. And then stripped it all back.
Monday afternoon was spent revising and strengthening my call to action and battling nerves. I went to Cafe Boheme in Soho to listen to some live music while I waited for the rally to begin.
While going over my speech, printed in 48pt, the man next to me asked how I could work in the noise; but I had sought it out. I specifically wanted to feel the late afternoon camaraderie. I wanted to hear musicians sing, I wanted to hear people of all ages and nationalities hum along. The man next to me and his father looked at the speech and asked if I would get tongue-tied over “lawless law enforcement”. They wished me luck.
In Trafalgar Square, a large crowd was waiting. The speeches started with Minnesotans Daveen Trentman and Colin Furness. While we were waiting to follow them, the other speakers talked about how important it was for each of us to stand up and be counted and to inspire those around us, and those back in America on the front lines.
My speech became about lawless law enforcement globally and their overreach of power and force. Here is an excerpt from that speech:
“On March 10, 2021, upon hearing that Sarah Everard’s remains had been found, I tweeted about a vigil for her and my life exploded. As one of the organisers for that vigil and co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, I watched firsthand as the Metropolitan Police unlawfully impeded our right to hold a moment of silence in Sarah’s name on Clapham Common.
“The Met antagonised and illegally stopped our lawful protest that one of their own, a dangerous, lawless law enforcement officer had raped, abducted and murdered Sarah Everard… Lawless law enforcement aggressively and illegally arrested women there to mourn. It was lawless law enforcement kneeling down on Patsy Stevenson, while all of the world’s cameras were on.
“I am just grateful that they didn’t have the guns that ICE has in America… make no mistake, Nigel Farage wants to bring ICE tactics to these shores…
“We must stand together in solidarity with those in Minnesota and those all over the world whose safety has been put in jeopardy by lawless law enforcement… We need to continue to protest. We need to donate funds and support immigrants in our communities and call it out when politicians and lawless law enforcement publicly lie to our faces about their actions.
“Volunteer in your communities. Offer your skills to refugees. Support those seeking asylum. Call out language that dehumanises refugees and immigrants.
“Be more Alex Pretti. Abolish ICE, prosecute ICE, protect the UK from ICE and lawless law enforcement.”
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ICE are now murdering people in the street
While I spoke, the crowd responded loudly and enthusiastically. They cheered and shouted “shame” as I described acts of lawless law enforcement, and while we collectively celebrated the lives and legacies of Keith Porter, Renee Nicole Good, Alex Pretti and 30 other individuals that ICE has killed.
Later, Deborah Francis White, of the Guilty Feminist podcast talked about the 3.5%, and Joanna Doheny spoke as a health care provider on what it meant to lose Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse for veterans.
I showed up nervous to speak, and I left inspired and energised, feeling that my despair and anger are not isolated or impotent. On January 28, the Together Alliance is hosting another huge rally in Trafalgar Square. I will be there, and at other rallies.
So join me. Join us. We are the 3.5%
Jamie Klingler is co-founder of Reclaim These Streets
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