NJ Progressives Protest At Cory Booker’s Presidential Fundraiser

NEWARK, NJ — “Hey Booker, We Demand Peace! From Venezuela to the Middle East!” So read the banners at a protest outside U.S. Senator Cory Booker's recent $1,000-per-ticket presidential fundraising event in Newark.

On Feb. 15, a few weeks after Booker announced he's running for president in 2020, dozens of anti-war protesters and community activists from Hands Off Venezuela/New Jersey gathered across from PJ Ryan’s at the Rock with a high-powered sound system.

Their goal? To provide a loud contrast to the "silence" coming from New Jersey's junior U.S. senator regarding the growing crisis in Venezuela.

“We are part of a growing national and international movement to demand that [President Donald] Trump and his Democratic party collaborators, like Cory Booker, end the sanctions, which are really weapons of mass destruction, and other schemes to overthrow the democratically elected Venezuelan government,” said Bob Witanek of Hands Off Venezuela/New Jersey.

Trump recently called for a "peaceful transition of power" in Venezuela as the nation struggles with civil strife, but has also said that “all options are open.” He has advocated for a military invasion of the South American country in the past.

• See related article: Trump Urges ‘Peaceful’ Transition In Venezuela
• See related article: Trump Hits Venezuela's State-Owned Oil Company With Sanctions

Booker recently told the Huffington Post that [President Nicolás Maduro] “is alarming to me on many levels” but did not elaborate what that might mean.

On Feb. 28, Booker advocated for the Venezuela Temporary Protected Status Act of 2019, a bill that would immediately grant temporary protected status for eligible Venezuelans fleeing the dire conditions in their home country.

“Facing an ever growing economic and humanitarian crisis at the hands of a repressive government, millions of Venezuelans have fled their homes to countries throughout the hemisphere,” Booker said. “Those who have sought shelter in the United States must not be forced to return to a country where basic food and medicine are scarce and fundamental freedoms are suppressed. This bill would provide refuge to innocent men, women, and children who have made it to our shores until it is safe for them to return to their communities.”

According to a statement from the protest leaders:

“Booker has been mostly silent since the coup moves by the United States and Speaker of the House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi has issued a statement strongly supportive of the Trump Administration and its moves against the nation and people of Venezuela. Thus far, Tulsi Gabbard is the only Democratic Party announced candidate that has stated anything strongly critical of the Trump Administration’s attempt to foment a coup against the nation of Venezuela. There are less than 10 or so Democrats in Congress and the U.S. Senate who have stated any opposition, aside from vague tactical criticism, to the Trump Administration policy.”

Protesters also criticized Booker for what they called his “past failures as mayor of Newark,” including the city’s ongoing water contamination struggles and issues with school privatization.

• See related article: Newark's $75M Solution For Water Woes Moves Forward
• See related article: Cory Booker 'Ran Newark Into The Ground' As Mayor, Trump Says

According to a statement from the activists, one of Booker’s aides “cordially approached the protesters” and promised to show the senator pictures of their eight-foot banner, which read: “New Jersey Says Hands off Venezuela! Rescind Guaido! Lift Sanctions! No US War in Latin America!”

Speakers at the rally included:

• Zulu Sharod - Black is Back Coalition
• Esteban Guevara - Party for Socialism and Liberation
• Jay Arena - Jobs and Equal Rights for All Campaign
• Munirah Bonami - Newark resident and member of the Newark Water Coalition
• John Lisowski - American Party of Labor

Protesters encouraged people to contact 908-881-5275 for more information about future anti-war efforts in New Jersey.

• See related article: NJ Sen. Cory Booker Is Running For President

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