On July 25th, the FBI conducted an early morning raid on a home in Portland and kidnapped a 24 year-old on federal charges related to a protest at the ICE building. They are facing up to 20 years in prison for allegedly “assaulting an officer” and damaging the facade of the ICE facility in SW Portland in early June. The FBI identified them by running a photo (in which their face was visible) through facial recognition search software. The photo was taken by Mark Graves, a photographer from the Oregonian.
Every camera is an asset to the state and a threat to those who fight back. From the professional journalist “just doing their job” to the movement livestreamer who’s “on your side,” to the protester waving their phone around for a social media post- all cameras are cops. This case is just the latest example, but there are many more that have come before. As AI and facial recognition software use expands, it is more important than ever to block, paint, and smash cameras at protests.
Especially in the last few weeks, as numbers and interest have dwindled, the “protest” that remains has become a feeding frenzy for far-right trolls looking to make a quick buck off of viral video clips. Almost nightly, someone is snatched up and arrested on serious federal charges. All the while, ICE operations remain largely uninterrupted- deportations continue, vehicles and employees enter and exit without obstruction. Yet people remain and call for others to join them, seemingly without any consideration or reflection of the situation at hand. This is activism at its finest: endlessly sacrificing people for the “cause,” trapped in the same dull loop of ritualistic action with no return.
Other unwelcome characters have also glommed on to the ICE protests. Mason Lake, a proud snitch who sent someone to prison in 2020, has been out covering and profiting off of the protests at ICE. Mason Lake has re-branded to “Channel Heed” and “Lake Vide production co.” DeAndre Bush AKA Sol Luna has also returned to filming and livestreaming. His livestreams were used to put people in prison in 2020 and 2021.
There are too many names to track, and the names are not particularly important. Any person with a camera out is a snitch to-be.
Keep each other safe by keeping cameras out.
Here are some links to relevant zines, to be read and distributed:
Why are we still standing outside of precincts? (why are we still standing outside of ICE?)
https://rosecitycounterinfo.noblogs.org/2022/02/why-are-we-still-standing-outside-of-precincts/
Lessons from the 2020 Uprising: Snitches, Cameras, and Undercover Agents
https://rosecitycounterinfo.noblogs.org/2022/08/uprising-lessons/
An Imagined Dialogue with a Defender of Taking Photos of People
https://ungratefulhyenas.noblogs.org/files/2022/06/streamer_clean.pdf
submitted anonymously