“We stand strongly against white supremacy,” Shaina Lu of Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition told the crowd gathered at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally held at Malden City Hall this afternoon in response to the Trump mob that sacked the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. “The white supremacist coup on the Capitol was an attempt to undermine our democracy. And as an organinzation we stand against such actions. Chinese-American activist Grace Lee Boggs once said, ‘You don’t just strongly disagree with a right-wing coup, you expose it as illegal, immoral, and illiegitiamte. And you start building a movement to challenge the system that created it.'”

“The events at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, were a tragically historic occurrence,” rally organizers wrote on the event’s facebook page. “All summer long, we witnessed as the largest racial justice protests in history were met with the fist of police brutality. Now, we see that a group of insurrectionists are met with minimal police presence while breaking into our nation’s Capitol to interfere with the results of an election they lost. For some, it may be tempting to simply wait for Trump’s time in office to end, and pretend that this coup attempt never happened. However, this would set a dangerous precedent where future elections are labeled as fraudulent by the losing side. It would be a mistake to turn a blind eye to this latest attack on our democratic institutions. Many of the insurrectionists traveled to D.C. from all over the country, including Massachusetts. Some members of the Malden community were directly involved in organizing and participating in the events at the Capitol. For this reason, it is important that citizens from Malden loudly reject this affront on our democracy, and call out the systemic problems that enabled it to happen.”

Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)

“White supremacy is the greatest threat to democracy,” Carey McDondald of Malden Police Alternatives and Accountability told the crowd. The Trump mob’s attack on the Capitol “shouldn’t have been suprising because they told us it was coming. … The president must be held accountable and he should be immediately removed from office.”

“How much blood will be shed until this man’s satisfied?” Diego Maldonado asked the crowd. “We must not allow this to end us. … These people must be held accountable, every last one of them. These people claimed to be fighting for America were actively fighting America.”

“We have to understand what happened Wednesday was insurrection against the United States. That’s what Donald Trump engaged in,” said Kari Percival, quoting the response of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the New York Democrat, to Republicans insisting that Trump shouldn’t be impeached. “…If another foreign head of state came in an ordered an attack on Congress would we say that should not be prosecuted? Would we say that should be absolutely no response to that? No. It’s an act of insurrection. It’s an act of hostility. And we must have accountability. Because without it, it will happen again.”

“We don’t tolerate fascism in Malden,” Anna Geoffroy told the crowd. “…Being against fascism is good. Embrace it.”


If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon. And sign up for our free, (hopefully) weekly newsletter so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content ©Greg Cook 2020 or the respective creators.)


Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Carey McDonald of Malden Police Alternatives and Accountability speaks at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Carey McDonald of Malden Police Alternatives and Accountability speaks at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Anna Geoffroy speaks at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Anna Geoffroy speaks at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Diego Maldonado speaks at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Diego Maldonado speaks at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Kari Percival speaks at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
Kari Percival speaks at the Malden Rejects the Coup rally at Malden City Hall, Jan. 10, 2021. (©Greg Cook photo)
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