US protester arrested after TV interview says she was targeted due to Venezuela trip | US news

Jessica Plichta was arrested on January 3 following a live interview with a local news station about a Grand Rapids, Michigan protest against the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an attack where the death toll was reported as 100. The clip instantly went viral, racking up millions of views on social media. while headlines Focusing on Plichta’s age (22) and that she is a preschool teacher, Plichta believes the reason for her arrest, apparently the only one among nearly 200 protesters, goes beyond the events of that day.

Plichta, who recently co-founded the local group Grand Rapids War Resisters and was one of the organizers of Saturday’s protest, visited the Venezuelan capital of Caracas last month amid a Trump administration blockade. He was part of the delegation of the International People’s Congress for the Sovereignty and Peace of Our American Continent. Activists from dozens of groups were planned to attend. But after Trump ordered the closure of Venezuelan airspace It was “completely closed” on November 29, many canceled their trips.

Plichta I still joined He claims to have visited communes, met with activists there and even talked to Maduro.

“I came back to the USA and made feedbacks. I spoke at that rally. I gave an interview and during the interview, I was immediately shut down and arrested among 200 people. So what else can you say about this?” said Plichta.

According to local outlet 13 On Your Side, Plichta now faces misdemeanor charges of “obstructing a roadway and failure to comply with the lawful order of a police officer.” Emerson Wolf, co-director of Grand Rapids Global Education Institute Palestine Solidarity Group President Grand Rapids said this is an established tactic of the Grand Rapids police to suppress local protests and protesters.

Last March, Wolf spoke at a local International Women’s Day event; as we prepare to lead the local Hands Off next month! After the protest, they were arrested on the same charges as Plichta, related to the previous protest.

“If the issue is truly about the safety of people exercising their sacred right to free speech on the streets of Grand Rapids, then why doesn’t GRPD arrest protesters immediately or do more to promote the safety of protesters downtown? Instead, they issue citations months later to criminalize dissent,” Wolf said.

Thousands of people took to the streets in cities across the United States to demonstrate following the ICE killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis yesterday. “First they arrest us on camera, then they shoot us in the streets,” Wolf said of the protesters. “This is unacceptable. We are living in a nightmare right now and it is time to take action against this type of brutality.”

Wolf said they have been following the anti-war movement since their youth during the Iraq war; Plichta has been organizing for about two years. Both strongly believe that the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela are a five-alarm fire in terms of international politics.

“We don’t want war. We don’t want the United States to increase its attacks on Venezuela. We don’t want our friends and family to have to get into a rich man’s oil war,” Plichta said.

Despite efforts to quell protests across the United States under the Trump administration, Plichta remained undaunted. “I saw a comment [that] ‘now there will be 1000 Jessicas with this.’ “This is not about me or my name,” Plichta said. “More and more people will come forward. “When you try to suppress the movement, all you do is radicalize those who oppose unnecessary war.”

Wolf said: “If they don’t want us marching in the streets, how else do they expect us to voice our opinions?”