Riot on Montreal Counter-information

Report-back on the June 6th Riot

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 11:59:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

June 6, 2024 will live long in our memories.

What happened that day was more than impressive. A riot emerged spontaneously on the McGill campus in response to police violence and a convergence of forces from the student intifada.

Since the media coverage seems to gloss over the strength of youth resistance that day, it seems important to take a look back at the day’s events.

Nanterre, France: Let's Riot!

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 12:30:00 +0000

From Abolition Media

Leaflet first published on June 29, 2023

A young man of 17, Nahel, was shot dead by a cop the day before yesterday, June 27, in Nanterre, a summary execution for something that has come to be called “a hit-and-run” or “refusal to comply”, for something that appears to be trying to escape so as not to remain at the mercy of two cops ready to kill. We don’t have the words – we’re still looking for them – to express our anger and total solidarity, unconditionally and even before we know more details about what happened the press has been spewing out rumors straight from the police precinct. Here are just a few thoughts, since we feel it’s necessary to express ourselves.

Minimizing DNA Traces During Riotous Moments

Sun, 30 Apr 2023 13:59:00 +0000

From Scenes from the Atlanta Forest

In our experience, most of us in North America aren’t in the habit of thinking very much about DNA traces. Information about how DNA traces are created or prevented is limited to several myths that are passed around. That said, you can be pretty certain that whenever arson is involved, a DNA forensics team will be involved too. For example, an arrest was made recently for a Jane’s Revenge arson after DNA was recovered at the crime scene. We want to briefly summarize some practical considerations. By arming ourselves with some preparation and an accurate understanding of how DNA is transferred, it is possible to drastically limit the amount of DNA we leave behind. Although DNA is something we should always keep in mind when planning our participation in a riotous moment, we don’t want people to feel overwhelmed by this information. Actionable knowledge empowers us to avoid the dual traps of recklessness (acting as if DNA doesn’t exist) and immobilization (as if leaving traces and their analysis in a laboratory is inevitable).

Rioting Against the Curfew!

Sat, 24 Apr 2021 13:12:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On Sunday April 11th, in response to Legault’s re-instatement of the 8pm curfew, people took to the streets in Montreal to enjoy the spring weather and express joyous rage at this shit world that continues to steal our lives away from us. Without any stated political intenton, a callout was made on social media to gather in the Old Port to party and defy the curfew. A number of anarchists joined what turned out to be a mixed crowd of people, mostly younger, whose main commonality was anger that their few freedoms were being further curtailed by the government. The atmosphere prior to 8pm was excited and raucous, with ‘fuck Legault’ being the most frequent and loud chant. Motorcycles revved their engines, people danced, drank, and laughed with their friends to celebrate spring in defiance of this bullshit world.

Black and Racialized Anarchists on the May 31st Demonstration: 9 Recommendations for Moving Forward

Sun, 07 Jun 2020 13:50:40 +0000

From Contrepoints

1. Nothing justifies police violence; whether we’re on a morning jog, using a counterfeit $20 bill, or breaking a jewelry store window. What the colonial state determines as crimes are often attempts at escaping poverty and systemic violence, or the result of these two things. We advocate for a restorative justice centered on the needs and experiences of victims, not a punitive justice centered on the needs of commerce and state control. Those who partake in protests while reproducing the discourse of the dominant class and playing police are doing the oppressors’ work.

Piles of Bricks and Other Things That Are Beside the Point: 11 Arguments Against Protest Conspiracies

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 13:37:11 +0000

From North Shore Counter-Info

(There is also a PDF of this text available for printing)

We’ve seen a lot of people on social media spreading rumours and sharing conspiracy theories about the uprising currently going on South of the border. These might be rumours about potential white supremacist attacks and interventions or conspiracies about police agents being responsible for violence carried out by protestors. This kind of online behaviour is harmful and undermines the movements you’re probably trying to support, and we thought we’d take a minute to break down why we should collectively push back against this trend.

The Locke Street Affair (Parts 1 and 2)

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 23:15:24 +0000

From From Embers

From Embers presents a two-part feature on the Locke Street Affair in Hamilton, Ontario. We sat down and interviewed a defendant in the case who will be in jail when this episode is released.

In March 2018, on the weekend of the Steel City Anarchist Bookfair, about 30 people marched throughthe Kirkendale neighbourhood of Hamilton. Some in the group lit fireworks, attacked luxury cars and smashed out the windows of gentrifying businesses on Locke Street, doing an estimated $100,000 in damage.

Staying Solid through the Flurry: An Anarchist Perspective on the Kirkendall Riot

Sun, 11 Mar 2018 19:26:12 +0000

Solidarity with The Tower! The Hamilton anarchist social centre has faced several attacks since the events on Locke Street. To donate to The Tower’s renovation fund, click here. Read The Tower’s statement on recent events here. From North-Shore.info

I wasn’t there on Aberdeen or Locke that night. I don’t know who was, and I’m not interested in knowing who was. I don’t necessarily think it was the most strategic or timely action in Hamilton’s history of resistance, but I certainly don’t condemn it. Far from it. I think it was brave, I think it was well-executed, and I think it was a meaningful and justified act of political action against a neighbourhood that sits way too comfortably on a mountain of unearned privileges, and that flamboyantly basks in the luxuries afforded by a destructive and exploitative system.

After-party riot at Francofolies: fuck la police

Fri, 24 Jun 2016 23:23:45 +0000

Submitted to MTL Counter-info

Triggering fomo (fear of missing out) in anarchists across Montreal who aren’t francophone music fans, over a hundred Francofolies festival-goers rioted last friday night after a performance by french rapper MHD. The crowd, mostly under the age of 20, threw bricks, bottles, and traffic cones at police, smashed the windows of at least 20 businesses between St-Denis and Drummond street, overturned vending carts, and attacked the headquarters of the SPVM, breaking multiple windows along its Saint-Urbain street facade. Six cops were reported injured.

Rest In Power Bony Jean-Pierre

Sat, 09 Apr 2016 08:44:31 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Last week, the police murdered Bony Jean-Pierre in Montreal-Nord, yet another black person assassinated by the agents of white supremacy. Wednesday night, the day of the birthday of Fredy Villanueva – assassinated by the police in 2008 and avenged by two nights of riots in Montreal-Nord – a demonstration in response to the murder of Bony Jean-Pierre turned into a riot against the police.

As expected, the Media regurgitated the myth of the “outside agitator”, just as they did during the Oscar Grant riots in Oakland, and the recent rebellion in Ferguson, perpetuating the lie of the incapacity of black people to act for themselves.

Six-hour inmate riot at Penetanguishene superjail

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 19:09:21 +0000

From our enemies - 19/6/2015

PENETANGUISHENE - Inmates at the maximum security facility in Penetanguishene, Ont., erupted into a random riot Thursday, destroying meal hatch doors, cell doors, phones, duct work and garbage bins in a six-hour incident that was only resolved when a tactical team used pepper spray.

The riot began when 45 prison inmates in two separate units at the Central North Correctional Centre refused to be locked in their cells.

From Ferguson to Oakland

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000

From Ferguson to Oakland: 17 days of riots and revolt in the Bay Area

From Crimethinc

A wild and growing anti-police revolt is in full swing across the Bay Area. It is a node in the growing national movement sparked by the insurrection in Ferguson following the police execution of Michael Brown, and at the same time it is a continuation of local struggles dating back at least to the 2009 Oscar Grant riots in Oakland. Some of us who have participated in events in the Bay over the past two and half weeks urgently desire to communicate to others around the world about what is unfolding here. Our aim is not to claim bragging rights or to establish Oakland as the riot capital of the United States. On the contrary, it is necessary to spread word of the unprecedented nature of these events precisely because it suddenly seems more possible than ever before that revolt against white supremacy and the police could spread beyond the usual spaces of protest.