Ahead of the release of video footage documenting the police execution of Tyre Nichols, the authorities are deploying all the standard tactics in the counter-insurgency playbook:

—Delay the release of the video

—Appeal for calm while mobilizing the same police forces that carried out the killing to be prepared to carry out more violence on a massive scale

—Permit some family members and activists to view the video in order to enlist them as spokespeople demanding a certain kind of response and delegitimizing those who do not comply

—Spread fear about an invented identity ("outside agitators," "gang members," "antifa") in order to preemptively justify violent repression

—Fire the officers involved; if necessary, initiate legal proceedings (these can always be dropped later)

All this has become standard practice. This is how they hope to suppress unrest, even in the most egregious cases of police murder.

But they have no intention of diminishing the amount of violence that police employ, nor addressing the disparities that render that violence inevitable. This is obvious because they are focusing on managing the public response to police violence rather than seeking change.

If there is to be any change, it will have to come from us.

#AbolishthePolice

New Series: Audio versions of CrimethInc. articles brought to you by the Ex-Worker Podcast

https://crimethinc.com/ExWorkerAudio

The Ex-Worker is back! After a hiatus, our reassembled audio affinity group is leading the charge to produce audio versions of CrimethInc. articles as they appear, as well as highlights from our back catalogue.

To get started, here is an audio version of "The City in the Forest," which combines a comprehensive history of the campaign to defend the forest with a strategic analysis that locates it in reference to the broader political context:

https://crimethinc.com/podcasts/the-ex-worker/episodes/85

Solidarity with Alfredo Cospito

https://crimethinc.com/AlfredoCospito

Since October 20, 2022, the imprisoned Italian anarchist Alfredo Cospito has been on hunger strike, demanding to be released from solitary confinement under the “41bis” regime. As of today, he has passed 107 days without eating.

Alfredo has lost more than 90 pounds. Bobby Sands, the member of the Irish Republican Army who was elected to Parliament during his hunger strike in 1981, died after 66 days without food. At death’s door, Alfredo has been transferred to a medical facility. His life hangs by a thread.

In this text, we explore what is at stake in Alfredo's hunger strike and offer a translation of an article about the situation by the Italian philosopher Donatella Di Cesare.

The next week of action to defend Weelaunee Forest has just been announced for March 4-11 in Atlanta. Save the date!

More details to come soon:

https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/