Lisa Davis, Vice Chair of the Black is Back Coalition, member of the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) and long-time organizer based in New Jersey was accused by the Village of South Orange, NJ, of violating two civil ordinances. These so-called violations were for protesting without a permit and violating the noise ordinance by using a megaphone.
Comrade Lisa was part of a vigil organized by residents of South Orange and Maplewood in support of the Palestinian people that would occur every Sunday from 3 to 4:30pm since December 2023. In an effort to quash this weekly vigil, a Zionist by the name of Michael Goldberg acquired permits for the same time and day for the rest of the year. However, the residents continued their vigil without permits unabated and were even told by the police that as long as they did not stay in place and kept moving, there would be no problems.
However, on one occasion, a Zionist who was unhinged approached the protestors as they were wrapping up their weekly vigil, screaming epithets and lunging towards two women who were wearing hijabs and part of the vigil. While doing so, he got in Comrade Lisa’s face, who told him he did not own this place, and he had to be escorted away by two male members of the vigil.
It was during this altercation that one of the vigil participants called the police. The police arrived, and the unhinged Zionist was taken away by ambulance. Comrade Lisa interacted with one of the police officers and subsequently sent him a video she had made of the incident. It was after the police got the video and, upon review, determined that two violations had occurred. It must be noted that Comrade Lisa was holding a megaphone handed to her by one of the vigil participants as they were wrapping up prior to the altercation.
At the trial, the prosecution’s case hinged on the testimony of the two cops who arrived at the scene following the call by someone participating in the vigil. The cops testified that they saw Comrade Lisa on the megaphone on several occasions from just after 3pm, when the vigil started, as they drove past the vigil while on patrol on several occasions. This was clearly a lie since Comrade Lisa had the Uber receipt that showed she wasn’t even dropped off to the vigil location until 3:40pm.
The cop with whom Comrade Lisa interacted admitted under oath that it wasn’t even until he showed Comrade Lisa’s video to his superiors and in consultation with legal counsel that they determined that they wanted to charge her with the violation of the two aforementioned village ordinances.
The witnesses for the defense testified that there was no organizer per se for the vigil and one of them testified that she knew for sure that Comrade Lisa did not organize the vigil (Comrade Lisa resides in West Orange and these vigils occurred in South Orange).
One witness also testified that the chants at the vigil on that day was led by someone other than Comrade Lisa who didn’t arrive until they were about to finish.
The judge in his summation before ruling cited the testimony of both police officers as credible and disregarded the hard evidence of the Uber receipt time and the testimony of Comrade Lisa’s witnesses.
Upon delivering a guilty verdict, the judge said he would sentence Comrade Lisa on the lower end of the fine scale. However, the black prosecuting attorney objected and stated he wanted a heavy fine (closer to $2000 per offense) because this is a “constant behavioral pattern” by Comrade Lisa, and a heavy fine would be a deterrent to such behavior.
It was at this point that several observers voiced their protest and the judge cleared the courtroom. This clearly was a case of the settler colonial State circling the wagons on pro-Palestinian protests and the targeting of Comrade Lisa. Comrade Lisa is appealing the verdict.
In summary, there are a few lessons to be learned by this attack on Comrade Lisa. For one, we should never volunteer evidence to the police. The State never serves the interest of African people, and it is true when they say anything you say or show them will be used against you. Also, in locations where permits are required for demonstrations, make sure they are acquired.
This colonial attack on Comrade Lisa is one of many acts by the State to silence revolutionary voices showing solidarity with and fighting for the just struggles of the Palestinian people and colonized peoples the world over.
As these attacks on African people and organizers intensify, we must be steadfast in our support and fight against this system that attempts to silence and throw us in jail for fighting for African liberation.
Uhuru!
