Helicopters In Chicago Apartment Raid Echo Military/HPD Exercise In Houston-Refusal Of Local Dems To Speak Up Lessens Trust

On September 6th, I made a Houston Democracy Project Blog post about joint operations involving both the military and the Houston Police Department. I said these-type actions do happen and there was a 10 day joint operation in 2022. At the same time, there is no reason in this climate to trust what is taking place. 

I’ve been thinking about these exercises since the use of helicopters by ICE in swarming and storming the apartment in Chicago. There were numerous reports of low-flying helicopters at the time of the Houston joint operation. 

(Above you see a graphic from the Texas National Guard Facebook page. Below you see the statement the City of Houston made at the time of the joint operation.)

People in Portland, Oregon report that military helicopters are flying low around town and "have lights that in shine in the windows..." of community residents. 

There is no reason to trust that these Houston operations were not about sending troops into civilian  buildings to terrorize people and take our rights. Trump recently said cities should be "training grounds" for the military. 

We have a right to know if Houston taxpayer resources were used to help instruct the federal government how to arrest, scare and harass people in cities across the nation. It is not difficult to imagine that these tactics could be used in Houston. 

NBC News reports today that Trump is seriously considering using the Insurrection Act to bypass courts and be able to send troops into cities. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he is going after what he defines as the left and after transgender people. 

Last week, Governor Abbott held a big press conference in Houston announcing the deployment of Texas state police in Houston and Harris County. While the announcement seems in good part about bashing Harris County Democratic Judges, I'm sure the Governor would also be fine with violating civil liberties. 

​Governor Abbott is politically fundraising on the deployment of Texas National Guard troops to invade Chicago. 

We already had reasons to doubt what the City of Houston tells us. HPD won't come clean on its cooperation with ICE no matter how many times the Chronicle reports on the subject.

The almost complete refusal of the 10 Houston City Council Democrats to comment and ask tough questions  about ICE in Houston, additional DPS police in Houston, Trump's threats to cities, Abbott's deployment of Texas National Guard to a big diverse city like Chicago and about Trump's relentless attacks on democracy, only lessen the trust democracy-loving Houstonians feel toward official accounts. 

Better communication and leadership is needed. The real local leadership is coming from rank & file Houstonians who are helping campaigns, protesting and looking out for people most under threat. 

We must stay alert, protect one another and be willing to meet the challenge of the difficult days ahead. 

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​

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