By Joe Wright

It appears that the world’s largest police/military expo will no longer have a home … at least in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After years of protests by anti-war activists and all people concerned about the militarization of local communities, Alameda County, California is announcing that this year will be the last to play host to the massive international annual expo known as Urban Shield.

Previous expos have seen demonstrators arrested who have attempted to block access to the Alameda County Fairgrounds where it has been held. Now, the leading group representing opposition to the expo – Stop Urban Shield – is announcing that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to end their participation.  The group celebrated the significance of the decision:

Urban Shield represents everything our movements are fighting against — from collaborating and training with ICE, hosting the white supremacist militia the Oath Keepers, training with and sending officers to apartheid Israel, glorifying policing and militarization, exploiting tragedies and natural disasters and public health needs, and continuing to align with Alameda County Sheriff Ahern’s support of the Trump Administration — Urban Shield has no place in the Bay Area or anywhere.

While clearly not everyone is going to agree with the group’s position regarding organizations such as the Oath Keepers, or some of their other rhetoric, it is nonetheless a victory for that community to eradicate the glorification of war and violence that the expo represents. As they conclude:

Congratulations to the San Francisco Bay Area for once again setting a precedent for the rest of the country against racism, repression, militarism, and state violence.

What liberty-minded individual could possibly not lend to support to that?

It of course remains to be seen where Urban Shield will set up shop in the future. While certainly this victory should be celebrated, it would be naive to imagine that the entrenched military-industrial complex will be deterred from its vision to bring war profits and police militarization to wherever it lands next.

Here is a video detailing the proceedings:

Joe Wright’s articles can be found at Activist Post. Support us at Patreon for as little as $1 per month. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Steemit, and BitChute. Ready for solutions? Subscribe to our premium newsletter Counter Markets.