The time is now for our legislature to pass meaningful, common sense laws that will hold police accountable and make our families safer. The killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright were not an anomaly. Police brutality is a real issue that disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous, people of color and low income people in Minnesota and across our nation. In Minnesota alone, there have been over 400 deaths from police brutality since 2000. The torture and killing of George Floyd in eight minutes and 46 seconds is perhaps one of the worst police brutality cases in our nation's history. This happened here, in our state, in our community. And the recent killing of Daunte Wright on the night of April 11 was another example of grotesque, unaccountable police violence. Daunte was shot dead just minutes after being pulled over for allegedly hanging air fresheners in his rearview mirror. In this moment as the entire nation and world watches Minnesota, we have an opportunity to lead the nation by passing pragmatic laws to promote safety, justice, transparency and accountability. Courageous Minnesotans are currently standing up for justice for all and peaceful protestors are demanding accountability and common-sense laws. Today, we are asking Minnesotans to demand Justice for George Floyd and all Stolen Lives by passing the following bills during this year's state legislative session. The bills would : End the Statute of Limitations for Lawsuits for Wrongful Deaths Caused by Police (HF 717, SF 2021) Strengthen Civilian Oversight (HF 640) End Police-Only Responses to Mental Health Crisis Calls (HF 1686, SF 1924) End Qualified Immunity (HF 1104, SF 580) Independent Investigatory and Prosecutory Body for Police Critical Incidents End Prosecution for Reporting Police Misconduct (HF 2201) End No Knock Warrants (HF 1762, SF 2139) Require Police to Carry Professional Liability Insurance (HF 440, SF 815) Require Access to Body Worn Camera Footage in Police Critical Incidents within 48 Hours (HF 1103, SF 807) A growing coalition of community groups including Communities United Against Police Brutality, Minnesota Disability Justice Network, Minnesota Justice Coalition, Racial Justice Network, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Minnesota demands police accountability and an end to police violence.

The US-backed Saudi-led coalition has been killing Yemenis for since its “intervention” 6 years ago. Recently, and out of desperation, the US-backed coalition escalated its tactics, implementing blockade on fuel entering the country. This effectively dismantles the supply chain in Yemen, leaving millions without food and medicine. It leaves hospitals and homes without power as fuel is required to power generators. This blockade is starving millions of Yemenis and the UN estimates 400,000 Yemeni children could die from starvation if the blockade is not lifted. Now a child dies every 75 seconds. Yemenis have been deprived of their basic human rights of water, food, electricity, and life at the hands of the US-funded onslaught. This is a preventable, man-made humanitarian crisis. We will not stand by the deaths of our families and people. President Biden and the United States must publicly condemn the blockade on Yemen & end all US support for the Saudi blockade.

There are a number of reasons why remote access to meetings should be preserved. First, it allows more people to attend meetings. This method has been necessary and is overdue - to remove it is discriminatory. There are those who cannot physically attend meetings for myriad reasons. Lack of transportation, caregiving, illness, age, etc. can all keep folks from in-person attendance. Second, following CDC guidelines in the meeting room means that attendance will be limited and, therefore, that fewer folks will be able to participate. To have meetings with only physical attendance and a limited number of attendees diminishes the public's ability to participate in decisions that involve them. Neptune had a hybrid meeting style in place. Third, NJ is still a highly at-risk state in terms of Covid infections. As of 9 April 20, cases were up 20% from a month ago. Monmouth County has the fourth-highest number of new cases. The Covid Tracker at the NY Times, updated on 10 April 21, states, "Monmouth County is at an extremely high risk of exposure to Covid-19." With these facts in mind, the reality is that there are those who will neither be able nor choose to participate because of health concerns. To deny the public remote access to meetings is exceedingly undemocratic and, at this time, medically unsafe.

We must all Stop Florida from becoming a citizen suppression state like what is happening in Georgia. Stand up for freedoms, stop voter suppression, and support citizen voices.

Gaetz has gone far to evade accountability for the things he’s done, so far that he sought a preemptive pardon for himself and other members of Congress for any crimes they committed, and though he didn’t get it, the investigation on him began under the Trump administration’s Department of Justice that was led by Bill Barr at the time, who abused his power by acting as Trump’s personal lawyer and covering up his many crimes. Gaetz’s predatory behavior is not new: While he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives, he showed other lawmakers nude photos of women that he claimed he slept with, he created a game to score “sexual conquests” that gave points for targets like interns, staffers, or other women colleagues, and he voted against a bill aimed at preventing people from sharing explicit photos of their ex-partners online. Gaetz, like his idol Trump, is a sexual predator. Not to mention that in 2020, Gaetz spewed baseless lies about the legitimacy of the election, which subsequently incited the storming of the Capitol by white supremacists, which he then called a false-flag operation by the left. Then, he and the GOP Treason Caucus refused to hold Trump accountable for obstruction of justice in the first impeachment trial, objected to certifying the 2020 election results, and even refused to hold Trump accountable for inciting a deadly insurrection in the second impeachment trial. Now, Rep. Gaetz is under federal investigation for sexual misconduct and sex trafficking a child. There is no room in Congress for a misogynistic sexual predator like him. That’s why we must take action to demand that Matt Gaetz resign from Congress, NOW!

After defending police officers who pepper-sprayed a 9-year-old girl, Rochester police union president Mike Mazzeo is now refusing to condemn officers who just attacked a mother and her toddler—including some of the same officers involved in pepper-spraying the 9-year-old. These are the latest incidents in a pattern of horrific police violence against Black people in Rochester, and Mazzeo has consistently worked to deflect accountability for police officers, excuse their conduct, and shift blame to city leaders. Mazzeo’s message to Rochester police officers is clear: use reckless violence against Rochester’s Black residents, and I will defend you, no matter the impact or consequences of your actions. In just a few months in Rochester, we can see how Mazzeo’s actions have excused police violence against Black people in the city: • In September, Mazzeo defended the officers who mocked, suffocated, and killed Daniel Prude, saying they did nothing wrong. • In January, Mazzeo defended the officers who abused and pepper sprayed a terrified, crying 9-year-old girl. • Just weeks later, Rochester officers viciously attack a mother and her girl after falsely accusing the mother of shoplifting—and Mazzeo has refused to condemn it, or push for any kind of accountability. If Mazzeo can excuse this kind of horrific police violence and remain the leader of the police union, it paves the way for Rochester police to continue committing acts of violence against Rochester residents, and makes achieving accountability for police and the enactment of necessary reforms nearly impossible. Mike Mazzeo has to go. Please join us in calling on Rochester’s Mayor, Chief of Police, City Council members, and Police Accountability Board to force Mazzeo’s departure, now.

Dr. Birx shared on CNN that in her estimation only 100,000 people should have died from this virus. If things had been mitigated properly 100s of thousands of lives could have been saved. The American People deserved to know the truth during the pandemic and STILL deserve to know the truth now. He caused unneeded hardship, emotional toll, debt and death to people unnecessarily.

Republicans think they can get away with taking the lazy option of choosing who votes instead of the courageous option of learning, and getting behind, what voters really want. This is partly because they have historically held the support of large corporations who benefit from their anti-labor stance of tax breaks, subsidies, and loopholes. But the support of business leaders helped Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., be recognized in his own state for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2006, pressure from business leaders helped incentivize the Republican-led Congress to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act. Big business responded to the January 6 riot by pulling campaign contributions from members of Congress who voted to interfere with the electoral vote count. And current activism by voting-rights advocates in Georgia and elsewhere have spurred major US companies to come down on the side of democracy. Voters are consumers, and companies ultimately answer to us. Tell US companies to stand up and put their money and their clout where their mouth is. No more mealymouthed finger-shaking in the face of brazen attempts to resurrect Jim Crow: It's time to make the same decision they made after January 6. No more funding for the campaigns of any lawmaker, anywhere, who votes to enact policies that restrict voting rights in the name of the Big Lie. There was no fraud. There was no steal. What there SHOULD be is consequences for the liars and cheats who want to steal votes from Americans. Tell big business to make anti-democratic lawmakers get reelected on their own dime if this is how they're going to "serve" the people.

We have way too many people that have been given abusive sentences.

In a March 2021 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse argues that the FBI’s 2018 investigation into sexual assault allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was “politically-constrained and probably fake.” According to the letter, the FBI failed to conduct a thorough review of the evidence against Kavanaugh, including ignoring a tip line for allegations and evidence and refusing to hear witness testimony. Free Speech For People has repeatedly called for Kavanaugh’s impeachment on the basis of perjury, as well as on sexual assault allegations and an overt display of political bias during his confirmation hearing. The case for impeachment has only grown as he continues to bring the judiciary into disrepute.

A state political party should be sent a very clear message that abusing government power to suppress votes will not be tolerated by businesses because supporting unethical state legislatures economically funds corrupt government and it will not and should not be tolerated. The legislatures and ELECTED representatives should be held responsible for driving businesses out of state. Businesses should only support states economically that support democracy not actively suppress it. Because that is what is truly at stake.

Body Cameras have been used in New York since 2017. Unfortunately, the truth is that less than 0.1% of police body camera video files are ever reviewed. There is simply too much data for a human to automatically review. However, this data contains valuable insights that can be used to generate police performance metrics. The technology exists for these files to be scanned and analyzed to make reviews and reports an efficient and effective process. Wearing body cameras alone is not enough to instill trust in law enforcement transparency. The audio data needs to be analyzed through natural language processing that can identify the areas police departments need to improve to build community approval levels.