Minneapolis—Organizing for Protection of the Community

Last week I was in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to observe and learn from those who have attempted to protect members of their community from the brutal assaults by ICE and other government agencies and hold those agencies accountable for the violence they ...

https://murica.website/2026/02/minneapolis-organizing-for-protection-of-the-community/

A #Protestor has been permanently blinded after being shot during a demonstration, according to her own account in a video interview with Courier News. Doctors told her her #Eye was ruptured beyond repair and that she will never regain vision on that side. She described extensive #FacialInjuries, skull fractures that cannot be fixed, and shrapnel lodged just millimeters from her #CarotidArtery, a detail doctors said made her survival a “miracle.”

She says the projectile contained #PepperSpray, leaving her unable to breathe for an extended period, and that doctors removed a piece of plastic roughly the size of a nickel from her eye, along with metal, glass, and plastic fragments embedded behind her eye and in her skull. She now sees nothing but darkness on that side.

As #PoliceViolence against #ProtestMovements continues to escalate, stories like this raise urgent questions about the use of so-called “less-lethal” weapons and the lasting harm they can cause. For #LGBTQ communities and other marginalized groups who often rely on protest to demand safety and dignity, accountability is not optional.