The most recent beatdown by Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich’s officers has been widely shared. As about 40 protesters pointed out Friday night, it’s also part of a much longer campaign of his. Diederich has been Williamson County Sheriff since 2022, and since he got in his office has repeatedly come under fire for the use of excessive force. According to protesters, from slamming people for no good reason to deploying deadly techniques against those fleeing, his “tough on crime” policies have destroyed or altered many lives. He attempts to launder his image by declaring petty drug busts as “drug houses closed for business,” posing for Christmas photo-ops, and plastering his name wherever he can calling for the investigation of others. The people are tired of him though, and are exposing him for what he is.
Ask yourself, what does Jeff Diederich, CEO of the Diederich Group, which “is involved in retail and wholesale insurance, real estate development and holdings, banking and financial institutions, and consulting” and “has offices coast to coast, as well as international involvement” want with the Sheriff’s Office of Williamson County? He’s close with other big names in the county, owns properties in prime locations close to major developments, and has used his connections to aid him in all of this.
Recently we’ve watched as police and punitive agencies across the country deploy illegal and repressive strategies against protesters for numerous reasons. From the abductions of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, Alfredo Juarez Zeferino, and many others by I.C.E. for their protests against the genocide of Palestinians and labor rights for farmworkers, to the excessive violence enacted against student protesters last spring for their activism in support of Palestine, to mass campaigns against climate protesters, to recent crackdowns on protests against businesses connected with Elon Musk, one thing is clear: The police across this country serve to protect the interests of those in power. The wealthy capitalists who decide who dies in wars, who gets to feed their families, and who doesn’t.
Corruption from the bottom to the top. The only way out is to get organized around common causes and fight back strategically. Southern Illinois Democratic Socialists of America stands in solidarity with all those fighting capitalist corruption. Down with Diederich!