As of yesterday morning, Donald Trump has declared a “public safety emergency” in Washington DC, placed MPD under federal control, and announced plans to deploy the National Guard in DC. This “emergency” is a lie. But more importantly, it is an extreme escalation of the fascist administration’s attacks on DC Home Rule, undertaken with the explicit intent of ramping up the federal government’s ongoing elimination campaign against working people, especially DC’s unhoused and immigrant communities. In the coming days, we can expect to watch the hammer come down on the city we call home, a reality made no less chilling by the fact that we’ve seen this coming since election day.
Our immediate challenge is to defend DC, but the scope of this issue is far broader. The idea that militarized occupation forces can create safety has been pushed at every level: by Mayor Bowser, by the conservatives on the DC Council, by the fascist Trump administration, and by the warmongers in Congress supporting genocide in Palestine. The occupation of our streets is a symptom of a far deeper systemic rot, one we’ve seen manifest around the world driven by capitalist pursuit of profit and power. Fixing this rot requires a fundamental reconstruction of American society that puts working people in control of our own lives, from our workplaces, to our apartment complex, to our Wilson Building, and to our Capitol. Only socialism can beat fascism, so Metro DC DSA will fight on every front and with every fiber of our being for our freedom. Join us! 🌹
This Sunday at 1:20 PM, MDC-DSA’s Labor Working Group, National Nurses United and the DC Nurses Association are proud to cosponsor this screening of LATE SHIFT for the Labor Heritage Foundation’s DC Labor FilmFest! Join us after the screening for a special panel where union nurses will reflect on the movie, their experiences on the job, and the power a union brings to such powerful frontline workers. You can grab tickets here at the link in bio!
“In many ways, Minneapolis has shown us what is possible. Not simply the response of a mobilized, militant community, but also the lengths that a despotic administration will go to increase its power and accomplish its racist policies.
For the people of DC, this occupation has not left. We have to decide: will we continue to ignore what is happening, or can we take action and fight for all residents of the District? Can we start to build our own militant Sesame Street?”
Words from a Community Defense Working Group member reflecting on lessons from Minneapolis’ resistance to ICE terror, learned during a week-long visit to the city.
Interested? Read the article in our linktree and join us in keeping DC safe!
Organize this week with MoCo DSA!
-Multiple electoral canvasses are happening over the weekend and on Wednesday 5/20 for our endorsed candidates @josieformd and @gabrielacevero . As mail in ballots arrive this week, it is so important for us to talk to voters about why our candidates are the best choices for our community. Please join us!
-There are also several social events happening including the Upcounty Working Group's monthly gathering on Saturday, the wider @mdc_dsa chapter's Spring Communiry Picnic on Sunday in DC and our MoCo Branch social for the month of May next Thursday evening. These events are excellent for anyone looking for community with other leftists in the area or to just learn more about DSA and democratic socialism.
As always, you can find all the info for these events and more in the linktree in our bio. In solidarity!
Are you a resident of, interested in organizing in or just someone who loves northern Montgomery County*, Maryland? Our Upcounty Working Group is just for you! Join them for their monthly meeting this Saturday, May 16, 2026 at the Gaithersburg Bookfair in Bohrer Park at 4PM followed by dinner at La Casita Gaithersburg at 6PM. Get more details with the QR or the link in our bio. All are welcomed!
*There have been many debates about what constitutes "upcounty", but the areas north of the ICC such as Gaithersburg, Germantown, Damascus, Boyds, Clarksburg, Olney, Laytonsville, etc. are typically included.
The race is on! Mail ballots are out in DC and Maryland and canvassing for Metro DC DSA candidates is ramping up. Plus, read about the experience Community Defense Working Group organizers had when they traveled to Minneapolis as part of a “Melt the ICE” week of action.
TONIGHT, Metro DC DSA and EC4DC will be hosting a fundRAVER at TRANSMISSION for reproductive rights.
Also in this week’s edition: Metro DC DSA is urging DC Council to put working people before autonomous vehicle companies, socialists and tenants prepare defense of Takoma Park rent stabilization (crucial dates May 22 and June 10), Northern Virginia will be hosting a Mutual Aid event, and We Power DC finally has merch for those who love the public power movement.
Every Friday, get the Weekly Update dispatched straight to your email inbox, with action notices, campaign updates, good reads, and more covering the District, Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County.
Love & solidarity,
The MDC DSA Publications team
🇵🇸 THE NAKBA CONTINUES / BUT PALESTINE DOESN’T DIE! ✊
78 years ago, the Palestinian people were dealt a brutal defeat at the hands of Zionist aggression. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people were dispossessed, expelled, or killed as a result of the victory of the colonial project. They were forced from their homes and ejected from the land they called home at gunpoint. Palestinians remember this day as Nakba Day: Day of Catastrophe.
The genocide in Gaza and pogroms in the West Bank are only the most recent expression of the Nakba. Palestine remain in a constant state of siege. Their land, their livelihoods and their dignity is fundamentally denied through this historic process of violence and terror. But the Palestinians are not helpless victims. Today also marks the Day of Palestinian Struggle, a testament to the spirit of resistance that lives in the heart of the Palestinian national liberation movement. Palestine will not disappear without a fight.
On this Day of Palestinian Struggle (Nakba Day), YDSA@AU reaffirms our commitment to fighting for an independent Palestine free from the shackles of colonialism and dispossession. We encourage and support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) that calls on both institutions and individuals to withdraw their support from Israel’s apartheid regime, complicit Israeli sporting, cultural, and academic institutions, and all Israeli and international companies engaged in violations of Palestinian human rights.
FROM DC TO PALESTINE, OCCUPATION IS A CRIME!
Did you know that mail in ballots for the MD primary will be arriving to residents across Montgomery County this week? That means that this is our last chance to speak with thousands of voters before they cast their ballots! Please join us to knock doors this weekend for our DSA endorsed candidate for Montgomery County Council at Large, Josie Caballero.
As an at large member of the council, Josie would represent all county residents and she is committed to fighting for core working class issues like public schools, affordable housing and rent stabilization and keeping ICE and DHS out of our communities.
No experience is needed and we will happily team you up with experienced electoral canvassers if you are new but it is helpful to pre register and download the minivan app prior to arriving. You can find the registration form for both Saturday and Sunday in the linktree in our bio! Looking forward to seeing you there!
Attention MoCo Socialists: Mail in ballots will be arriving for the MD primary this week! This means that our window to speak with thousands of voters is rapidly closing. Please consider joining us to knock doors this weekend for our endorsed incumbent candidate for MD House of Delegates District-39, Delegate Gabe Acevero @gabrielacevero .
No experience is needed and we will happily team you up with experienced electoral canvassers if you are new. However, it is helpful to pre register and download the minivan app prior to arriving. You can find the registration form for both Saturday and Sunday in the linktree in our bio!
Congratulations to All Fired Up Workers @afuworkersunited for winning their union election yesterday! MDC DSA and the Labor Working Group are proud to stand in solidarity with workers, because every worker deserves a union! #UnionStrong
Get Hyped For Imara Crooms!
Imara Crooms is the Metro DC DSA endorsed candidate running for Prince George’s County Council, District 9. Vote for Imara in the Democratic Party Primary on June 23rd 2026
Please join our partners in @casa4all tommorow @ 10 am to rally behind Kilmar. Let’s show people that people of this community are strongly against ICE and the police state that has been harassing him!
