05/29/2026
Tacoma DSA Supports the Spokane 3
Nearly 120 years ago, the Spokane Free Speech Fights rocked the Pacific Northwest as hundreds of members of the Industrial Workers of the World and their allies were incarcerated, brutalized, and charged while they fought for the freedom of speech and assembly. In Spokane, workers put themselves on the line to advocate for their community, and were ultimately victorious in what turned out to be one of the most important free speech battles in US history. Today, a new free speech fight is underway in the city of Spokane.
Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla are being charged with conspiracy for supporting the organization of a protest to prevent two young asylum seekers from being kidnapped by ICE and sent to the for-profit Northwest Detention Center located here in Tacoma. These manufactured charges are ordered directly by the Trump Administration to target community organizers, particularly those opposed to the regime’s campaign of kidnapping and deportation.
Detainees at Geo Group’s private detention center, located in the heavily industrialized Puyallup Estuary, face deplorable conditions. Detainee’s can be held for years and experience inedible food including food that is rotten, raw, or contains worms or rat droppings as well as life threatening medical neglect. As asylum seekers, these two young people face deportation to a country where they face political violence, or deportation to black sites like El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). This 40,000-inmate "mega-prison" in Tecoluca is known for extreme conditions, featuring 24-hour lighting, no family visits, and human rights abuses.
We celebrate the Spokane community’s defense of inalienable human rights, and call on the federal administration to immediately drop these charges. We call on our federal and state representatives to intervene in defense of the Spokane 3. Lastly, we call on our Pacific Northwest Community to show up however we can in defense of Jac, Justice, and Bajun, and to keep struggling until all political prisoners are free. Justice for the Spokane 3!
