Cassius Methyl | The Anti Media

Activists in Seattle are currently extremely active, doing daily protests for Ferguson, Palestine, against Monsanto for environmental issues, among many other causes. Image credit: jglsongs

It is under-reported how active these people are, and how much work they have put into making people conscious.

Seattle, and more specifically Capitol Hill activists, are in such large numbers and work so peacefully and effectively, that the Seattle Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security are targeting them and doing heavier and heavier surveillance by the day.

On a daily basis, helicopters fly over the protests that take place in Seattle, hovering menacingly over completely peaceful people. Innocent people get maced for no reason who aren’t even involved in protesting, and violence is instigated by the police.

For example, earlier this week the anarchist Co-Op coffee shop ‘Black Coffee’ was put under blatant surveillance and were met with intimidation by an officer. A female officer parked directly in front of the place and pointed her dashcam camera at the activist coffee shop, videotaping the entire scene for about an hour and a half.

This coffee shop is under investigation in several ways , and the police are doing everything they can to shut it down. It will probably have to move to another location in Seattle in the next few months.

Here’s a video of the incident:

Why?

Likely because the shop hands out free zines about the philosophy of anarchy and countless other topics which challenge the current state of affairs. Bookshelves are filled with conscious material here, and the people who pass through the doors of this place tend to be determined activists, targets of the police and homeland security. These are people of great depth and powerful knowledge, and the police are blatantly targeting them.

Perhaps it’s because the coffee shop owners refused service to the police, exercising their right to refuse service to anyone. That is not illegal, and the police responding to that with surveillance is characteristically criminal behavior.

It is especially important to note that these activists are doing nothing but spreading ideas; ideas that are corrosive to the current paradigm of the violent police state.

This is an blatant indicator that the intensity of provocation from the police is on the rise, and the activist movements in Seattle and across America are becoming so effective that police are focusing on activists more than people who commit real crimes.

Please share this with as many people as possible, and simply be aware of the fact that if you are spreading ideas about opposing the current militarization of the police, or opposing the current paradigm of war for profit, you will be targeted. You must plan for that to continue to be an effective activist. If you are reading this, there is probably nothing that can stop your drive to wake up the fellow members of your community and society. Keep up the good fight, and know that this is a sign of the effectiveness of our activism.

If you would like to learn more about this anarchist coffee shop, you can visit Black Coffee Co-Op’s website here, and their Facebook page is here.

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