This Pride month is off to a remarkably rocky start, with several local protests breaking out across LA County opposing “gender ideology” and “critical race theory” in our public schools, despite parents and teachers alike supporting the curriculum. In the midst of these attacks on LGBT education, Xodiak, a trans and Indigenous organizer of QueerX was arrested at West Hollywood Pride on bogus charges, along with their comrade Abby. Footage was provided by Comrade Jordan, of the West Hollywood Social Justice Collective:
The supposed “outstanding warrant” on Xodiak was apparently filed two months earlier, in the wake of community defense for a drag storytime event at West Hollywood library, which had been targeted by fascists. During that action, Jairo the Hitlerite, a notorious fascist propagandist in Los Angeles County, showed up to film and antagonize the crowd. While attempting to disrupt the library event, he had his ass kicked by anonymous “black bloc” crews standing in the entrance to the library. The pigs stood nearby, no doubt fearful of starting a riot, as Jairo called for their help. As he turned tail and left, he continued to vlog from the very cellphone he would later claim was stolen by Xodiak. And while Xodiak was indeed present at the action, leading the crowd in chants and cheers, Lavender Press journalists who were on scene have confirmed that Xodiak never once laid a finger on Jairo, let alone stole any property. Yet the police report posted after Xodiak’s arrest accuse them of exactly that:
After Xodiak was arrested, they were placed in jail at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station with a ludicrously trumped up bail of $100,000. Speaking incredible volumes about the love and solidarity shared by the LGBT community, the necessary 10% of that sum — $10,000 — was quickly raised to have Xodiak released. Yet, immediately after submitting the bail funds, the Sheriffs moved Xodiak to a different detention center and added a second charge, which as of writing this article has not been publicly specified. Clearly the pigs must share Jairo’s disdain for Xodiak, who has tirelessly advocated for police abolition and for cops to stay away from Pride; clearly the pigs are doing everything in their power to prevent Xodiak from being released, despite having committed no crime! As Jordan later identified in his Twitter thread detailing the arrests, Xodiak is a political prisoner — that is to say, guilty of no crime other than challenging ruling class hegemony.
West Hollywood mayor Sepi Shyne, a bourgeois identity-opportunist who is quick to fall back on her lesbian identity when criticized, has stated that this incident is “deeply disconcerting,” but nevertheless maintained that “these arrests … conform to policies and protocol.” She further promised “conversation” and “dialog,” which might have held some weight if this were the first incident where she’s been called upon to actually represent the interests of her supposed queer peers and to reduce, defund, and dismantle the police. Earlier this year, another trans activist living in West Hollywood, Annie Jump, was brutalized by LASD in her own apartment while defending her Fourth Amendment rights. Annie confronted Mayor Shyne in a variety of forms and repeatedly received idle talk about reform. Despite promising to help, Mayor Shyne has repeatedly supported and defended the institution of the police, offering only symbolic gestures, such as declaring West Hollywood a “sanctuary city for transgender people.” Of course, it’s difficult to feel safe in this “sanctuary” when the police who, ostensibly, are supposed to protect us, are part and parcel to the campaign of fascist violence against us.
In the age of “rainbow-capitalism,” where corporations routinely tout “queer-friendly” marketing, where the Pride movement has been overtaken by shady nonprofits and corporate sponsored Pride marches, where politicians make feeble denunciations of chauvinism and flaccid appeals to “equality,” it has been easy for many of us to forget our historical roots. After all, even the most liberal and “queer accommodating” curricula don’t really do justice to the movement for queer liberation, preferring to push our radical history under the rug. But Stonewall (1969, NYC) was a riot against the police who raided a gay bar and brutalized its patrons!
But Compton’s Cafeteria (1966, SF) was a riot against the police who tried to arrest transsexuals for loitering (despite paying for coffee)!
But Black Cat Tavern (1967, Silverlake) was a riot (well, civil protest) against police brutality following a raid by LAPD’s vice squad — undercover police with quotas of homosexuals to catch!
But Cooper’s Donuts (1959, LA) was yet another riot against police brutality!
What the history of our movement shows is that, far from being simply about peace and love, the Pride movement is about the fight against oppression and state violence. We would do well to remember that as the pigs today not only continue to brutalize us, but routinely defend the very fascists who call for our eradication. While our attention is focused on the troubling rise of this “grass-roots” fascism, liberal politicians and propagandists continue their efforts to beguile us, to deceive us into neglecting the institutional fascism that’s been around us all this time, to continue accepting the lie that the fascist cops will protect us from these other fascists. In truth, fighting fascism won’t be accomplished at the ballot box, by voting for liberal oligarchs who continue funneling money into the police, prisons, and military. Fighting fascism means getting involved and organized, it means building a militant mass movement of the people!
Release Xodiak! Release Abby! Release all political prisoners!
Update: June 7, 2023 at 2:00 p.m.
While Xodiak’s arraignment was originally scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, June 6, 2023, their court appointment was repeatedly pushed back throughout the day, and then canceled altogether. After a campaign of public scrutiny, a judge ordered Xodiak’s release. Yet the police have so far refused to comply.
Update: July 7, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
As of 6:00 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time), police have complied with the court’s order to release Xodiak.
