Activists worry militants co-opting protests, miss chance to listen to Black community members, some say

Originally published June 7, 2020: Behind the scenes of the various Austin police protests over the past several days, tension has grown among organizers, who say they agree on the larger goal but not on how to get there.

The massive daylong May 30 protest at Austin police headquarters was organized by a group calling itself the Mike Ramos Brigade, which announced itself on Facebook on April 29, five days after Austin officers fatally shot the unarmed Ramos during an arrest.

But Brenda Ramos, his mother, said through an attorney that the Mike Ramos Brigade never asked for her permission to use her son’s name and likeness on their social media posts. And even though brigade members solicited donations on her behalf, according to a video posted on the group’s Facebook page, Brenda Ramos said she has not received any aid.

An online fundraising campaign had raised more than $21,000 “to support Austin protesters arrested by the racist cops” by Friday evening. It was unclear how much, if any of the money, had reached those arrested during the demonstrations.

Brigade organizers would not return multiple requests for comment for this story.

The brigade’s leaders have branded it as a militant group and have blasted the black-led social justice group, the Austin Justice Coalition, for canceling a rally May 31 after the brigade’s demonstrations ended with arson and looting.

Coalition leader Chas Moore criticized the brigade, accusing its majority nonblack leadership of co-opting Ramos’ image and missing an opportunity to sit back and listen to black community members last weekend.

“I just think it's important in moments like these -- where there's a struggle for justice, liberation and freedom -- to listen to the people that are most are hurting at that moment. So for you know, these extremely radical white folks to just go out and act on their own is irresponsible, and it reeks of privilege. And it shows me that they don't really understand what liberation and organizing is all about,” Moore told the American-Statesman.

Little is known about the brigade. But brigade organizers, who gave the Statesman pseudonyms or partial names, said on Facebook that they have black leadership.

Brigade members appear to be aligned with the socialist group Red Guards Austin and the affiliated group Defend our Hoodz, which works against gentrification of Austin, Ramos’ attorney and activists have told the Statesman.

Red Guards Austin disbanded in December 2018, according to its Facebook page, but the group resurfaced earlier this year when congressional candidate and self-described Democratic Socialist Heidi Sloan reported she was attacked by its members. Sloan said she was shoved and smashed with eggs filled with red paint after a political canvassing effort in East Austin.

Video from a recent brigade event billed as a community meeting showed an organizer describing his organization as militant.

“We believe in organized militant rebellion,” he said in the footage. “Riots are going to happen.”

Other messaging on the brigade’s Facebook account include its denunciation of Ramos’ killing and police brutality against black and Latino individuals.

Co-opting the protest

The canceled May 31 event had been the brainchild of Robert Ginyard, who said he also was disappointed by the co-opting of the planned peacful demonstration at the Capitol.

Like many, Ginyard watched the disturbing video of George Floyd begging for help as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck. Floyd died after passing out.

Ginyard said he already was emotional about other recent killings and mistreatment of black Americans – Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and Christian Cooper in New York’s Central Park, where after he asked that she leash her dog, a white woman called police claiming he was attacking her.

Ginyard said Floyd’s death “put me over the top.”

“That made me realize I'm not doing enough. I'm not doing enough and I can always do more,” said Ginyard, who described himself as a regular Austin guy who works in sales.

A day after watching the video, he called friends and co-workers to see if they were interested in protesting at the Capitol. With little response, Ginyard on May 28 took to Facebook to create an event. When hundreds said they wanted to join, he solicited the help of Moore’s coalition.

Five thousand people, including families and pastors who were going to serve as speakers, indicated they wanted to attend the event, which was characterized as “a peaceful protest as we come together in community to build unity and organizing power as we continue to strive to make the world a more just and equitable place for Black people, all (people of color), and all marginalized communities.”

On May 27, the day before Ginyard posted his Facebook event, the brigade created one to protest outside of Austin Police Department headquarters on May 30. Police clashed with protesters, who overtook Interstate 35 multiple times. The protest turned bloody, as officers dodged thrown water bottles and other items, and police used pepper spray and fired less-lethal rounds into the crowd at various points.

On what was supposed to be the day of Ginyard’s rally, the brigade created another event to protest at a Target store at the Capital Plaza shopping center, which historically has served nearby minority neighborhoods. An hour into the demonstration, after protesters pried off security cameras, the store was looted.

Authorities announced Saturday that three people in their 20s had been charged with burglarizing the store and that the FBI is assisting in the investigation through a joint domestic terrorism task force. Charges included rioting, felony burglary of a building and criminal mischief. The Travis County district attorney’s office said in a statement that the three people arrested are members of a local anti-government group that is “a self-identified communist/socialist ANTIFA group.”

Watching some of the violent scenes unfold on May 30 and fearing looting the next day, Ginyard reached out to Moore and other members of the Austin Justice Coalition to cancel the event.

“We were afraid some people were just protesting because they hate police officers, and they don't really care about black lives,” Ginyard said. “We don’t want our message to be lost.”

Even though Ginyard and Moore individually joined peaceful portions of the protests last Sunday, they believed canceling the event was the right choice to protect families who wanted to bring children. Moore added that he didn’t want the justice coalition to be blamed for violence that wasn’t its doing.

In separate incidents, Texas State University Justin Howell and 16-year-old Brad Ayala suffered critical and serious injuries, respectively, after being shot in the head with beanbag rounds by Austin officers.

“It was the hardest thing that I had to concede to as a leader,” Moore said. “I do feel like we let a lot of people down. Some things that happened later that night would have been attributed to us. The young men that were shot by rubber bullets that are, I believe, in critical condition, some of the looting that happened – that could have been on our watch.”

The brigade called the cancellation an “act of cowardice” and accused Moore of cozying up to Austin police.

Two rallies this weekend

The Austin Justice Coalition will have a rally and march at Huston-Tillotson University at 1 p.m. today, making it clear on the event’s Facebook page that it will be a peaceful protest “that will center black voices, black stories and black solutions.”

The brigade had planned another protest outside of Austin police headquarters Saturday evening.

Lawyer Rebecca Webber said Brenda Ramos is heartbroken that her son’s name and image are being used to cause division and violence in the community.

“It’s really unfortunate, because I think she feels some internal responsibility for this thing that she can’t control that’s grown out of control, or people got hurt,” Webber said.

Moore said he is open to meeting with the brigade to hash out their differences, but he says that they differ on ways to reach a common end. The coalition wants peace while the brigade apparently does not, Moore said.

The coalition has proposed various reforms to Austin policing, including rewriting of the Police Department’s use-of-force manual, changing public oversight of department and retaining unaltered police body camera footage.

Moore said he would ultimately like to see Austin Police Chief Brian Manley resign. Moore said that Manley has been a weak leader who has made poor decisions, including continuing to arrest and ticket those who commit low-level marijuana offenses and hesitating to support bans against punishing homeless individuals for public camping or lying in a public space.

“He’s one of those good people. He’s a person that if you went on vacation for two weeks, he’d come water your flowers. But when it comes to leadership, I don’t think he’s that guy. He’s the guy that came out pretty adamantly against some progressive city ordinances,” Moore said. “And you know, (the death of) Mike Ramos was under his watch.”

Despite differing on how to achieve those goals, Moore and brigade leaders say they want police brutality against people of color to end.

“People have to be upset and be angry, but we also have to be in a space where we can learn and organize together ... to talk about the things that we need to do to eradicate racism and white supremacy and anti-blackness,” Moore said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Activists worry militants co-opting protests