By The Borikén Liberation Front and Toreador

Three days after 19 year old Nathan Fejerang was murdered by Chicago pigs, dozens of community members mobilized at the corner of Grand and Kolin to demand justice. The event, organized by the Borikén Liberation Front, was intended to be a community speak out; which would allow for Nate’s family and loved ones, as well as concerned community members, to freely speak their mind about the epidemic of police violence which plagues Chicago’s Brown and Black neighborhoods. Understanding the atrocities at hand, Nate’s family made the correct call that the time was now for protest. Shortly after community members arrived to flyer and have conversations with people about Nate’s murder by CPD, police vans and squad cars swarmed the site of the demonstration, forcing the attendees to take on a more militant and defensive approach to the action.

As police continued their terror campaign upon Puerto Rican citizens through harassment, intimidation, and threats, the masses refused to back down. In a matter of minutes after pigs amassed against the community, attendees moved from sidewalks to the streets to take Grand Ave. Pigs attempted to kettle the demonstration while threatening arrests, but their movement was noted by organizers before they could complete the maneuver, which allowed the crowd to safely march to a new location. There, police called in more units, attempted to stage another kettle, and arrested one community member who joined the demonstration from off the street. The reason for the arrest is still unknown, as the police refused to state what crime the individual had committed.

The demonstration eventually moved back to the intersection of Grand and Kolin to avoid another kettle, where we remained until the conclusion of the protest. There, pigs shamelessly demonstrated their racism and brutality as they shoved a 10 year old Puerto Rican girl and as they attempted to rip a Puerto Rican resistance flag out of the hands of an organizer. Pigs also tried to foment national divisions by telling Puerto Rican attendees that Black and White demonstrators were “not on their side.” One officer, when asked by a demonstrator, openly admitted to being a racist and another proudly stated that he also would have killed Nate Fejerang if he was there that night, too.

All this while police still refuse to state why Nate was stopped in the first place or to release the body cam footage of the incident. It doesn’t take a detective to determine the reasoning behind all of this. Nate Fejerang was murdered in cold blood by terrorist pigs. The individuals shown running through the alley where police approached Nate do not fit his description whatsoever. Nate’s family has noted that he is unable to run after another gunshot wound he suffered three years ago which left him with severe limp. His neighbors have noted that he was hanging out with them drinking near the yard he was killed prior to the murder. Others have noted that they heard a single gunshot followed by Nathan crying out that he wasn’t resisting and that he had been shot before a burst of four more shots. Others still have noted that they saw Nate with his hands up before he was killed. Community members have noted that a nearby business with security cameras which captured part of the incident was intimidated by police and told not to release any footage. The reality is obvious: Nate was targeted by racist, murderous police. Killed without provocation. And now, CPD is scrambling to terrorize the family and community into inaction while they put together a coverup.

The people will not stop until the body cam footage is released and justice is served. We will not be deterred by intimidation and terror by the state.

Justice for Nate!
Stop the coverup!
Release the body cam footage!
¡El Barrio Esta Despierto!