The recent surge of rioting, looting, arson, and violence in the aftermath of the May 25 death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis wasn’t “peaceful protest” hijacked by “extremists.”
It was violent from day one—and it was always intended to be that way.
The interview is chilling for its casual approach to mass violence and destruction. It’s a must-listen for anyone wanting to see into the mind of a hardened communist revolutionary.
The Green Flame describes itself as a “Deep Green Resistance podcast that brings you revolutionary analysis, practical skills, and artistic expression from the grassroots movement to dismantle global industrial civilization.”
“Jess is a community organizer in Minneapolis. She has done solidarity work in El Salvador and Iraq. ... She was involved in the Anti-War Committee that organized against the RNC [Republican National Convention] in St. Paul in 2008, and her home was raided by the FBI in September 2010 as part of a coordinated attack on that movement.
She makes it very clear she was a key player in the “uprising” and fully approved of the resulting violence and looting.
“It’s been 20 days ... the first two weeks after George Floyd was killed saw an intense high level of organizing all day and all night every day. During the day we would have marches and rallies, and at night the focus was often at the Third Precinct, which is the police station where George Floyd’s killers were working out of. Those demonstrations I know the whole world saw.”When discussing the spectacular arson of the police station, she casually says, “I can’t tell you the joy it brought all of us to see the Third Precinct destroyed.”
“Lots of buildings were destroyed. Some by fire, some by brute force ... golf clubs, baseball bats. ... That said, there was a really powerful unity between those night actions and the rallies and marches during the day, and it was clear to all of us who live here every day that all of the demonstrations were demanding not only justice for George Floyd but expressing this deep well of rage against the violence that police commit in our communities, over and over and over again. ...
“There has been a lot of confusion sown ... about whether those night demonstrations are in fact legitimate. And I want to be absolutely clear as an organizer—what I did most of the last three weeks was organize rallies ... and marches—those night demonstrations, the emptying of the Police Department, the emptying of Target and other major stores ... is absolutely tied to, connected to, and part of the movement.”She emphatically denies claims that Antifa or “white supremacists” turned peaceful demonstrations violent. She is very clear that the violence was very much part of the movement she helped to lead.
“The narrative that has tried to suggest that those more advanced actions, more militant actions, were specifically either carried out by Antifa or by white supremacists. ... It’s also a huge mistake and it’s not true to say the main thing that happened that was destructive in the Twin Cities over the last few weeks was outside forces. ... The myth of the outside agitator is just that.”Incidentally, Sundin is the wife of FRSO political secretary Steff Yorek. On Jan. 20, 2016, the day President Donald Trump was inaugurated, Yorek announced to a Washington protest, “We need to stay in the streets the entire four years opposing Trump and making the country ungovernable.”
These demonstrations would have happened without the Floyd killing. Another spark would have been found, had Floyd never been killed.
FRSO comrades went on to lead demonstrations in several cities. They still are.
Are there grounds here for charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act? Under the statute, leaders of organizations can be held liable for crimes committed by underlings if certain levels of proof can be met.
Those subpoenaed were facing decades-long jail sentences if indicted. But, in the end, the Eric Holder-led Justice Department didn’t charge them.
Had those cases been prosecuted, maybe U.S. cities wouldn’t be burning today.
