Protesters Show Solidarity for Hunger-Striking Etowah County Detainees
Protesters in Birmingham today clanged forks and spoons against empty plates and marched in a show of solidarity for the 40 detainees currently on a hunger strike at a U.S. Immigration and Customs detention center in Etowah County.
Demonstrators wore black tape over their mouths as they marched up and down 11th Avenue South. Written on the tape was the message “Shut Etowah Down.”
“We believe that as one of the cheapest detention centers in the nation and one that has been [designated] by a bunch of human rights organizations as being the worst, the one with the worst conditions in the United States, we are advocating for it to be shut down,” says Lucia Hermos. She’s with the American Civil Liberties Union in Alabama and helped organize the event.
According to the group Detention Watch Network, the average amount spent per detainee at the Etowah center is about forty dollars a day — that includes food and health care. By comparison, the national average is 160 dollars a day.
Detainees have been on hunger strike since Thanksgiving, after joining a nationwide movement to stop alleged abuse.
Yesterday, a federal judge ordered the force-feeding of one Etowah detainee reportedly in deteriorating health.
Calls to detention center officials were not immediately returned.
Figures and Dobson are in a heated battle for a redrawn Alabama House district
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama voters will decide who will represent a congressional district that was redrawn after a lengthy legal battle that drew national attention and could provide a rare opportunity for Democrats to flip a seat in the Deep South. Democrat Shomari Figures, a former top aide to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, […]
A wild election is coming to a close — and no one is sure how it will end
From candidate swaps to assassination attempts, the final months of the campaign has been a whirlwind. Here's why the outcome is so consequential.
Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes can proceed, a Pennsylvania judge says
Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta in Pennsylvania — ruling after Musk’s lawyers said the winners are paid spokespeople and not chosen by chance — did not immediately explain his reasoning.
Puerto Rico holds general election that promises to be historic
Puerto Rico is holding elections that will be historic regardless of which of the top two gubernatorial candidates wins.
Boeing machinists approve contract, bringing an end to a bruising seven-week strike
Striking machinists voted to approve an agreement that will hike wages by 38%. The deal was endorsed by union leaders, who warned that Boeing’s next offer might be worse.
States and cities beef up security to prepare for potential election-related violence
Washington state's governor activated the National Guard to stand by to help local law enforcement as needed. Meanwhile, extra security is in place at locations across Washington, D.C.
