2026 Summer Newsletter

Handful of Salt

Issue L, Volume 2 – Summer 2026

Included in this issue:

Young Activist Leaders Program

Director’s Reflection

Washington Neighborhood Defense

Peacekeeper Updates

Seattle Party

2026 Peace & Justice Action Conference Recap

Trainings Recap

Save the Date! PJALS Annual Benefit Luncheon

Young Activist Leaders Program

by YALP Youth Organizers

This spring, we celebrated the completion of another successful Youth Action and Leadership Program (YALP) session, with 25 young people graduating from the program.

Throughout the session, participants learned about community organizing and explored the intersection of art and activism through hands-on projects. Youth expressed their ideas, values, and visions for change through creative writing and artwork, gaining practical experience in using creativity as a tool for social justice and community engagement.

The cohort also had the opportunity to participate in the May Day rally and march, putting their organizing skills into action and experiencing the power of collective community action firsthand.

The spring session concluded with a celebration attended by family and friends, where participants unveiled their final project: a collaborative art mosaic. The mosaic brought together the many ideas, values, and causes that the youth are passionate about, reflecting their learning and growth throughout the program and their commitment to creating positive change in their communities.

Thank You, Foster!

We are also saying goodbye to our Youth Organizer, Foster Transue.

Foster first joined PJALS as a YALP graduate and later became a Youth Organizer, working alongside a team of youth leaders to help develop and facilitate the YALP program. Through their dedication, creativity, and commitment to youth leadership, Foster has helped create meaningful experiences for countless young people.

While we are sad to see Foster move on, we are excited for the new adventures and opportunities ahead. We are deeply grateful for their contributions to our organization and the impact they have made on our youth programs.

Thank you, Foster, for your hard work, leadership, and dedication to PJALS and the young people we serve. We wish you all the best in your next chapter.

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Clipboards and Bullhorns on Trial:

“Spokane 3” Conviction a National First in the Federal War on Free Speech

by Liz Moore, Executive Director

We are outraged by the unjust verdict against Jac Archer, Justice Forral, and Bajun Mavalwalla II, and we are resolved to continue our work. This case has always been about more than individual defendants. It reflects growing attempts to criminalize protest, solidarity, and collective action in defense of immigrant communities.

When ICE agents illegally detained two asylum-seekers in Spokane on June 11, 2025, people from across the community were appalled. Neighbors gathered outside the ICE field office, some linked arms in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience, and hundreds showed up spontaneously throughout the day to express their solidarity with the people unjustly attacked by ICE.

Acts of community are not acts of conspiracy. The protest at the ICE office was community in action – using our First Amendment rights to speak out against ICE’s illegal abductions and for our immigrant neighbors, grounded in principles of  nonviolent action, solidarity, and community care.

The next day, on June 12, 2025, the federal Department of Justice distributed a memo directing all U.S. attorneys across the country to prioritize prosecutions of ICE protesters and to publicize that enforcement. Richard Barker, the acting U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington state at the time, resigned in his own act of protest – refusing to charge the peaceful protesters in Spokane. His successor, however, did not show the courage to refuse the federal regime’s pressure to target dissenting voices.

This authoritarian regime hopes to turn us against each other, scapegoating Black and Brown people in our communities, but we will keep speaking out to oppose their agenda. We are part of the Great American tradition of community coming together to call on our government for human rights, justice, and equality. 

Civil rights have been fought for and won in this country through civil disobedience when the government is using the law to attack our first amendment rights and suppress opposition. Civil Rights leaders have a history of fighting for justice especially when the injustice is being perpetrated by the government and these leaders, the Spokane 3, are no different.

Throughout this unjust trial, our community showed what real solidarity looks like. Every day, the courtroom was filled with supporters standing quietly and powerfully beside the Spokane 3 in the face of politically motivated bullying and aggression. That solidarity gives us hope and strength moving forward.

On May 28, 2026, a federal jury found three Spokane community members guilty of conspiring against U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Their conviction, a national first, has sparked outrage and resolve among community members, First Amendment advocates, civil rights and civil liberties groups – and even from the former federal prosecutor who resigned rather than pursuing the unjust charges in the first place.

No verdict changes the fact that people showed up because they believe their neighbors deserve dignity and safety. Our commitment to one another remains stronger than fear. 

The defendants are now waiting for U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pennell to rule on a rare “Rule 29” motion, which “allows defense attorneys to argue the prosecution’s evidence is so weak that no rational juror could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to The Guardian. The defense will file the motion in July; the judge could rule as soon as August. If she rules against the motion, the next step will be for her to issue sentences, which the defendants are expected to appeal.

In keeping with chilling national trends seen in the Broadview Six prosecution and elsewhere, the federal government aggressively attempted to cast a malicious light on freedom of expression by attempting to present the following peaceful activities as criminal “threats”: 

• Using a clipboard to collect emergency information
• Using a bullhorn to communicate nonviolence and safety expectations
• Talking to each other while protesting 
• Linking arms nonviolently 
• Protecting yourself against violent munitions and chemicals used by law enforcement 
• Standing up after getting knocked down and trying to stay upright when being pushed by agents
• Being in the same place as other protestors!

The prosecution led with over 40 hours of law enforcement officials testifying that the these nonviolent actions made them afraid for their safety – as if that justified the federal agents’ use of force against the peaceful protestors.

These are all activities that the U.S. government’s argument during this trial and the jury’s verdict threaten to criminalize as acts of violent conspiracy while protesting. These are all tools that disciplined nonviolent organizers have used for generations to keep each other safe while we act on our first amendment rights to assemble and speak out against injustice. If the tools peaceful protestors use for organized nonviolence are criminalized, and the organizers who are committed to using those tools are prosecuted and jailed, then what will a community full of justified rage at the government’s attacks on our neighbors have left? Fascists desire to strip us of the tools and the people who keep each other safe in hopes that our disorganization leaves more room to grab power and crack down on dissent. This is an attack on the peacemakers and protectors in all of us, and at the same time a call to action. This trial served to name the skills authoritarian leaders fear, and we would all do well to grow our training and personal readiness to stand in nonviolent civil resistance.

The prosecution presented law enforcement officials whose violent, racist, misogynistic statements on video or social media were revealed in court: Sheriff’s Deputy Brittan Morgan and ICE agent Jeremy Burlingame. Their bigoted and extreme statements stand in sharp contrast to our grassroots community’s commitment to racial and gender justice and LGBTQ liberation. 

The prosecution asserted “nonviolence is aspirational” — as if their worldview shows them that the only real power is in dominance and violence. We reject that. Now we root into all the movements and all the people behind us to strengthen our resolve and to fuel our resilience. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King declared: “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” 

To learn how you can support Jac, Justice, and Bajun through financial contributions and other means, go to www.pjals.org/Spokane3 

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Washington Neighborhood Defense

by Gian Mitchell, Regional Organizer

This spring, PJALS partnered with the statewide volunteer group Washington Neighborhood Defense (WAND) to launch a new workplace rights canvassing program in Spokane County. WAND provides training and canvassing materials to volunteers across the state so they can visit workplaces and share basic information about workers’ protections when immigration enforcement agencies, including Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs & Border Protection (CBP), show up. Here in Spokane County, PJALS has added local organizing components to help build community capacity to resist authoritarianism and protect our neighbors.

Since launching this pilot program, PJALS has trained 25 volunteers and visited 17 workplaces across Spokane County. We have also continued to strengthen the training based on what volunteers are learning in the field, and we will keep improving the program as it grows.

Click below to see upcoming trainings

WAND Trainings

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Keeping the Peace!

by Joe Stussi, Peacekeeping Coordinator

The Peacekeeper Program has been busy! After many years of leading PJALS peacekeeper trainings, Liz has passed the trainer baton to Gian and Joe. With support from experienced peacekeepers like Petie and Terri, we have held one Peacekeeper Training each month for the last three months. The curriculum has also been refined and updated for this current moment, with a focus on practical skills for supporting safety at protests, actions, and community events.

In the last three months, 70 people have completed a Peacekeeper Training. That growing capacity is already being put into action. Peacekeepers supported 18 events between the start of March and the end of May, and in June alone, we are currently planning to peacekeep six more events. Together, we are building the skills and relationships our movements need to stay grounded, prepared, and in community.

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Party on the West Side!

by Shar Lichty, Development Director

This May we hosted another Seattle area party to continue the celebration of our 50th anniversary, strengthen existing relationships, and welcome new ones.Although our work is based in Spokane, we have 100’s of supporters west of the Cascades and have worked in partnership with several organizations based in Seattle in advancing our shared goals and values of building a just and nonviolent world.

It was a lovely spring evening, the feeling of community was enhanced by the local farmer’s market taking place right outside the venue, and the room felt alive with conversations among longtime friends and colleagues as well as new folks.Thank you to all who were able to join us in celebration and relationship building, we truly appreciate it and look forward to seeing you next time.

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2026 Peace & Justice Action Conference

by Trévis Ray, Digital Organizer

More than 200 people gathered for our 2026 Peace & Justice Action Conference, From Survival to Vision: Crafting the Future We Deserve. Together, we explored organizing strategies, community care, movement building, and the bold possibilities of a more just future through workshops, discussions, and collective visioning.

Our keynote speaker, Aaron Dixon, reminded us that real change requires solidarity across race, class, and communities. His message underscored the importance of coming together to confront oppression, build collective power, and create the future we deserve. Thank you to everyone who attended, presented, volunteered, and helped make this inspiring day possible.

Shantell Jackson, Community Organizer at the 2026 Peace & Justice Action Conference. Photo by KeMoni Robinson

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Developing leaders,

Building our movement

by Liz Moore, Executive Director

In our PJALS community, we know everyday people can accomplish extraordinary things together. We strengthen our grassroots movement through workshops and trainings to increase skills, sharpen analysis, and weave relationships so that we can work together more effectively for racial justice, peace, human rights, and economic justice. Leadership development builds stronger organizations, builds grassroots power, and means we can do more! Leadership development increases movement resilience to withstand repression. Organizations and movements that prioritize building lots of people’s skills and leadership are more resilient than projects that can be undermined by picking off a single leader who holds most of the skills, experiences, networks and clout. 

Here are a few highlights from the more than 35 learning opportunities so far this year: 

• Our anti-authoritarian noncooperation training called How People Power Beats Fascism is based on research on successful people power movements from across the world and current key strategies in action across the US including community-wide strikes and boycotts. We offer this workshop as a 1-hour introduction or as a half- or full-day deep dive. 
• Nonviolent Direct Action Training is jointly offered with Spokane Community Against Racism for community members and tailored for specific audiences such as clergy. This workshop includes principles and strategies of nonviolence as well as role-plays. 
• Rapid Response training with Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network is designed to train volunteers to be ready to respond to immigration enforcement abuses.
• Peacekeeper training, called Nonviolence In Action, builds the skills of de-escalation for protests and events. Graduates are eligible to volunteer as PJALS Peacekeepers. We offered this workshop several times in Spokane and also offered it in Coeur d’Alene. 
• The 2026 Peace and Justice Action Conference offered more than a dozen workshops on learning from the Black Panthers organizing, Everyday Resistance to Authoritarianism 101,  nonviolent communication, rapid response skills, reclaiming our power through embodiment practices, The Boycott, Divest, Sanction Movement, how to canvass workplaces to build community safety, and more! 

What did participants say about our workshops? 

“I liked the mix of presentation and then working in groups. It helps to get to know other people and lots of different ideas come up.”

“I’m now more likely to encourage others to become involved more actively in resisting authoritarianism.”

“It gave me actionable item ideas—not just talk.”

“I have more clarity about how I can use my time well to make a difference.”

Join us for upcoming workshops — together we can build skills and shift power!

Trainings & Workshops

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Save the Date!

PJALS Annual Benefit Luncheon

by Shar Lichty, Development Director

Wednesday, October 14th

11:30am-1pm
“The Venue”
10514 E. Sprague Ave, Spokane Valley

Our Annual Benefit is our largest fundraiser of the year, where we increase the capacity of friends and funds to sustain our work. There is no cost to attend – guests will have the opportunity to donate to PJALS. If you would like to host a table, please contact Shar at [email protected]. 

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