On September 3rd, the “Uhuru 3” and the First Amendment itself will be on trial in a landmark case that may effectively determine whether it is illegal for American citizens to be anti-war. The Center for Political Innovation attended an Uhuru rally in New York City on August 14th to build support for their case. Hands Off Uhuru is holding another rally and march today, August 31st, in St. Petersburg, Florida to build support. CPI members are currently in Florida to attend the trial and show our organization’s support.

For those who are not familiar: the “Uhuru 3” are three leaders of the black liberation organizations African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement, who have been indicted as supposed “unregistered foreign agents” of Russia for their opposition to US war in Ukraine and their participation in local Florida elections. These groups have been politically active and outspoken for decades; however, the US government is now attempting to silence and imprison them on ‘evidence’ which appears to amount to little more than a Zoom call between Uhuru leaders and a Russian citizen. If successful, conviction of the Uhuru 3 could make it effectively illegal for American citizens to oppose US wars if they have ever discussed their ideas with a citizen of another country. This would be a massive blow to freedom of speech and political expression in the United States. CPI steadfastly supports the Uhuru Movement in this case and encourages all members and allies to do the same.

On Wednesday, August 14th, the Hands Off Uhuru group held a rally outside the New York Times office in New York City, criticizing the silence of mainstream news organizations on this major legal battle. CPI founder Caleb Maupin and other CPI members attended and spoke with several Uhuru supporters at the event.

“Corporate media has not put any focus on this trial and how important this trial is… the United States professes itself as a democracy, yet if the chairman, Penny, and Jesse are convicted, that’s out the window,” said one rally attendee. “Any dissent that you have against foreign policy of the United States, they now would have the precedent to lock you up and say that you’re an unregistered agent of whoever they are going against.”

Another continued: “If [the Uhuru 3] are found guilty, that means they can come after anyone. That means that freedom of speech, at least on paper… is gone. They’re not being charged with espionage, they’re not being charged with embezzlement, they’re not being charged with illegal arms or anything like that — it is all about what they said. So that means what you and I are doing right now, they can criminalize that.”

CPI member Peter K also attended the rally and said the crowd of roughly 50 attendees gathered outside the building was “pretty fired up.” “It was important to go,” Peter continued, “because if they make up reasons and convict them, then they just opened a can of worms — this can be used as a precedent to legally go after all forms of dissent against the US government.” He thought the rally was a success because “a lot of people walked by… some people seemed interested, they would read the signs aloud and some would stand and watch for a little.” The August 14th event also gained media attention from the news network RT.

In the upcoming trial, the Center for Political Innovation stands firmly with Uhuru, on the grounds that solidarity is the best defense against political repression. As Maupin stated after the August 14th rally: “We’ve got to put aside our differences and say: ‘If they come for them, they come for all of us. If they go after them, they’ve got to deal with all of us.’ That needs to be the attitude among anti-imperialists.” CPI will continue to support the Uhuru 3 through the upcoming trial and wishes them success, for their sake and for the sake of all Americans.