The Chicago police are sending everything they've got to Grant Park right now. They're beating protesters. Folks have been pepper sprayed.
There's a lot that's unclear on the livestream and my communication with folks on the ground is unsteady, but the cops have def beaten tf out of some folks out there.
There are folks who are bleeding, some folks have been arrested. I'm not clear on how many. Cops are still being aggressive with folks.
My friends are gagging from tear gas.
The Chicago police are racist brutes. Every time. It's not surprising. They understand what many don't: that all of their power over people rests on their ability to deal out violence at their discretion. You cannot reform away the core function of a thing.
That's why we have to defund and abolish that shit.
None of this would be happening if Chicago's mayor had the political courage to take down the Columbus statue herself. Instead, she invokes Trumpian talking points about not "erasing history." People were brutalized today for trying to do what Lightfoot isn't brave enough to do.
Black and Indigenous people in Chicago were gassed, beaten, pepper sprayed, and attacked with clubs by hordes of rushing police, all in defense of a statue of a purveyor of genocide. Shame on Lori Lightfoot.
You can check out the hashtag #DecolonizeZhigaagoong for more on the protest. It was a Black and Indigenous solidarity march to #DefundCPD that began as a rally at Buckingham Fountain. 
Some of y'all talk about protesters throwing fireworks like you don't understand what police do in this city. Like you don't understand how we got here.
Bond money is not needed at this time, but there is a call for jail support.
