On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. An officer knelt on his neck, ignoring his pleas of “I can’t breathe”— the same pleas Eric Garner made six years ago on Staten Island, NY as police murdered him via chokehold.
The city of Minneapolis has since erupted with revolutionary activity. Three days after Floyd’s murder, on the night of May 28th, in an escalation unprecedented on U.S. soil, the people of Minneapolis set fire to the Third Precinct. Video footage shows cop cars and vans fleeing the scene— rats from a sinking ship— while the people pelted them with objects and shouted at them.
Floyd’s murder took place on Memorial Day: a day set aside annually by the State for the expressed purpose of celebrating its ability to expand its white supremacist empire globally. The National Guard, meanwhile, was called in in a failed attempt to crush the revolt.
What the people of Minneapolis have achieved ushers in a new stage in the war against the State. RAM stands in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis, and oppressed people everywhere who are fighting for their lives. We are inspired and humbled by what we have seen.
Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement, May 29, 2020.