On Thursday, July 31, Dare to Struggle CT held an impromptu protest after getting kicked out of the Assembly Room restaurant in New Britain for bringing in homeless activists. The Assembly Room called the police on us two times, but the cops left each time without arresting anyone. On Tuesday, August 5, hours prior to our next planned protest, Detective Thai Tran of the New Britain Police Department drew up arrest warrants for three Dare to Struggle activists. Judge Chris Pelosi of the New Britain Superior Court signed each warrant.
New Britain Police then came to the homes of two of our members and arrested each person. This happened right before our plans to protest the “National Night Out” event celebrating the police and their supposed good deeds. The following day, a third person turned himself in after we learned there was a warrant out for his arrest. All three Dare to Struggle activists face charges of second degree “breach of peace.”
NBPD has made several blatant mistakes along the way. When one of the three arrested at her home pressed officers for a warrant, they refused to produce one. When we finally got our hands on documentation, the arrest warrant applications (not signed warrants) indicated the police were targeting Dare to Struggle for legal First Amendment activity, are using a falsified statement from another property manager as evidence, and they have surveilled our activities long before they arrested three of us:
“Members of the New Britain Police Department’s Intel Unit are familiar with the group called Dare to Struggle CT”;
“The group aims to protest for the homeless population of New Britain, through rallies, protests, and pamphlets”;“Through previous intelligence gathering, [Dare to Struggle members] are frequently seen with megaphones shouting their hatred for the police.”
To be clear, we hate how the police treat the poor and oppressed of New Britain, whether it’s cruel targeting and harassment of homeless people or senseless police murders that go unpunished.
When they were questioning us separately, NBPD tipped their hand to the real reason for the arrests. Detectives asked about our plans to protest the National Night Out, which they tried to include as throwaway questions, despite detectives tying their incomplete warrants and charges to events at The Assembly Room on July 31.
NBPD drew up arrest warrants under false pretenses, staked out one of their homes with unmarked cars, pulled another out of their home without a warrant, and put us through questioning, all to prevent Dare to Struggle from protesting the National Night Out and to prevent us from protesting more injustices around Connecticut.
NBPD is using arrests to intimidate us and suppress free speech. If we allow NBPD to use absurd charges to stop us from protesting, they and other police departments will remain emboldened to target any activist group when we step out of line from what they deem acceptable. We call on churches, community groups, activists, and organizations fighting injustice across Connecticut to publicly speak out about NBPD harassment. We cannot tolerate this.
Dare to Struggle has fought and won against political repression before. In October 2024, 15 people were arrested in New York City on the National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality. A few of us refused to take plea deals, choosing instead to take a collective stand against vicious, militarized police assaults of protest.
And last August, Dare to Struggle members protested the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and faced arrests for demanding an end to the US-Israeli genocide against Palestine. We took our cases to trial and won, enjoying the chance to embarrass Chicago prosecutors and Chicago police for supporting genocide.
We must recognize and act upon how critical it is to meet this moment. People we join with in the struggle against their oppressors face a constant and very real fear of repression and retaliation if they choose to fight back. It is our collective responsibility to provide examples of how to fight back and win, drawing courage and audacity from each other instead of retreating or taking deals.
We are calling on anyone outraged by this for your support in the coming weeks:
- Donate to our GoFundMe campaign help cover our legal expenses.
- Share our statement with your friends and neighbors to help make this a much bigger story.
- Hit us up to present our experiences to your classroom, clergy, or community group.
- Come to or watch the press conference before the first court hearing. Be on the lookout for the day and time.
- Publicly condemn the NBPD with us for violating constitutional, First Amendment rights with your own statement, signing onto our letter, and by speaking at our next press conference.
- Check out our calendar to go out with us to talk to people about our fight to Drop the Charges. Come to our public meeting on August 17th to get involved!
Dare to Struggle 