Syed Hussan, a spokesperson for No One is Illegal and the Toronto Community Mobilization Network, was arrested today on the way to a press conference addressing the targeting of community organizers.  An acvisit, with Hussan at the time, was also detained in an unmarked vehicle and driven around the city for 45 minutes before being let out at a random street corner. Ironically, the press conference was called to address the violent targeting of community organizers through early AM raids and arbitrary detentions.

The activist stood outside the house of two people who were arrested early this morning at the press conference that Hussan could not attend because of his detention. She was leaving the Tent City with Hussan when:

“an unmarked van of police thugs, plainclothes, surrounded us, pulled us out of a cab, took Hassan, arrested him put him in handcuffs threw him again into this unmarked van and sped away.”

She got into another taxi when a second group of unidentified plainclothes officers,

“surrounded our taxi cab, opened the doors, took me out threw me in handcuffs and told me that I was under arrest. I stood on a street corner for quite some time and asked them why am I under arrest, what am I being charged with, why I was in handcuffs. They refused to identify themselves. They refused to tell me why I was under arrest. When media cameras approached they tossed me a gain into an unmarked car and drove me around for 40 or 50 minutes. This was a clear attempt to intimidate me. And then they let me go on a street corner.”

The targeting of organizers by plainclothes officers in unmarked vehicles is reminiscent of the worst kind of police State. The fact that organizers from No One Is Illegal are disproportionally targeted also points to the racially-targeted nature of police brutality. People who are fighting for the rights of undocumented and migrant workers are being disproportionally silenced.

She said:

“I’m extremely angry I’m extremely disgusted that this is what our money our tax dollars are going to do to put armed thugs on the streets of every intersection of Toronto to target community organizers, the people who are out on the streets to talk about poverty, to talk about racism, to talk about homelessness. This is what we are here to do and we are being targeted before we even get to the streets. Three of the activists arrested this morning have sent messages out that people should not do jail solidarity but instead should join the protests in the streets.

I’m leaving this press conference and going to the streets. I encourage people watching if you don’t agree with this if you don’t agree with this kind of policies intimate if you’ve lost your jobs if you’re living in poverty if you’re upset that over a billion dollars of your money was spent on this armed camp in this fortress in our city then please join us in the streets. The only way we can tackle these issues that where’re hear to tackle is if we refuse to be afraid if we refuse to be silent and we continue to get on the streets.”