July 21, 2021

The Des Moines Police Dept and many other law enforcement agencies deployed a militarized attack on the people and families of Des Moines using weapons and tactics of war to destabilize communities across Des Moines in the early morning of July 21. Historically, raids have targeted communities where Black and brown lives exist. They are used strategically to displace and terrorize communities, furthering the disparities that were built by the same officials that enable and fund the police. Police agencies notoriously conduct these raids in the dead of the night as to keep their violence hidden from the daylight of community members and to heighten terror for those whose homes they are raiding.

It is our duty to call to attention these acts of violence by those in power.