Peace and blessings! We hope this message finds you well. BLM757 aka BlackLivesMatter757 has been at the forefront of social justice in the 757/Hampton Roads community since July 10, 2016.

We have been able to effect significant change and advocate for justice, including getting 2 men free from prison, the conviction of a law enforcement officer who murdered an unarmed 18-year-old, Juneteenth recognized as a statewide holiday, and the removal of confederate monuments across the state, among other things. We've also received rewards from the local radio station 103Jamz, and the city of Norfolk awarded us an U.P.L.I.F.T. for continually uplifting the community despite the pandemic.

We put boots on the ground to help find missing persons, and we have actually reunited a teen with her family. We put boots on the ground for Ashanti Billie and had a small hand influencing the Ashanti Alert, which is now a national law, to help find missing adults.

We have volunteered thousands of hours and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to fight injustices not only in Virginia, but in DC, New York, Connecticut, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, and beyond. Of all the places we’ve ventured, we have only been abused in Virginia.

We are currently championing various social justice campaigns. We have ventured to Mexico via Del Rio to help with the Haitian border crisis, which was a global news story. We have adopted a village in Togo West Africa as well but, all of this progress has come with a price.

The price is the “powers that be” targeting the founder of our organization Aubrey "JaPharii" Jones. The first targeted attack came during the first anniversary of BLM757. We attempted to have a peace march in the city of Hampton to commemorate our 1st year of organizing. We were met with armored vehicles, aka street tanks, while leading a PEACE march with women and children. Hampton police ultimately ended up ticketing JaPharii. The charge was beaten by JaPharii in court representing himself.

The second attack came not from law enforcement but from those trying to overthrow the BLM757 movement with a rogue organization named "Black Lives Matter Hampton roads," which no longer exists. This group was upset at the notoriety we were receiving after such a short existence. They began smear campaigns that got more dangerous for JaPharii. They formulated a plan to sic the legal system on JaPharii for false accusations of stalking. This incident described in court was caught on film and is ready for whoever would like to see it. This rogue offshoot organization had JaPharii arrested 6 times in 6 weeks, ultimately landing him in jail for over two weeks as he fought the charges.

They were ultimately all dropped, but the financial and traumatic damage was done. This didn't stop the movement, but it did slow us down tremendously, and it took a long time to get back on track. The third wave of attacks came in 2020 during the George Floyd & Breonna Taylor protest.

Activists and concerned citizens from all across the country took to the streets to have their voices heard. We had been at the forefront of PEACEFUL protests for an entire 4 years prior to this. Every city in which we held 1st amendment protests let citizens rightfully express themselves ... Except for Virginia Beach and Hampton. These were the only 2 cities locally attempting to make hard times harder. Virginia Beach deployed flashbangs, and tear gas on kneeling citizens on the oceanfront on May 31, 2020. An individual tried to run his truck through the protest, and law enforcement took over a month to SUMMONS him to court, no arrest despite overwhelming evidence of this individual attempting to seriously harm or cause death to peaceful demonstrators. We made several attempts to get on the same page as the powers that be in Virginia Beach and were turned down each time. In July of 2020 we yet again attempted to hold our then 4-year anniversary peace march in Hampton, still marching in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all injustices in the 757. Many police even took a knee with citizens in traffic. JaPharii was later ticketed, and the ONLY one ticketed despite law enforcement officers' participation.

On September 5th, 2020, things turned violent. We held a peace march for all the injustices in Virginia Beach. We were in the company of the families of Demario Joyner, India Kager, Matthew Rushin, Champ Turner, and victims of the Virginia Beach police department and judicial system. JaPharii was violently arrested by Solomon Simmons, and thrown in jail. We held a protest upon his release the next day. After the protest, over half a dozen Virginia Beach squad cars surrounded JaPharii at a poorly lit gas station and administered a bogus field sobriety test, which he passed with flying colors. Officer Solomon Simmons was present.

Officer Solomon Simmons would later go on to murder Donovon Lynch a little over 6 months later. Solomon Simmons is still on the Virginia Beach police force, and since then, we have received a constant stream of complaints about him levying bogus charges on citizens.

In April of 2021, we stood against the injustices surrounding the murder of Donovon Lynch and DeShayla Harris. The Virginia Beach Police Department unleashed another wave of charges on JaPharii for allegedly stepping into the trolly lane during the peaceful demonstrations... Yes ... the trolly lane.

Most recently, Aubrey was arrested when trying to attend the “Get Out the Vote” rally at the Nauticus in Norfolk, where he was an invited guest. Aubrey was denied access to the rally on the grounds that he was unvaccinated even though others were admitted simply by wearing a mask. This incident led to 3 NPD assaulting Aubrey outside of the Nauticus and then being charged with assault on an officer, trespassing, and disorderly conduct. He also suffered injuries that required hospital care.

In the wake of the disappearance of Cody Bigsby, we once again jumped into action. We were contacted by the family as crisis consultants and were helping the family with everything from forming search parties to providing the family with security to and from court proceedings. As we worked hand in hand with the Bigsby family, a rogue group called Team Cody was started with the goal of detracting from our efforts. The leader of Team Cody has launched a smear campaign with the goal of hurting the the real work we’re doing in the Cody Bigsby case. They’ve openly harassed the Bigsby family and now have turned their sights on BLM757 and specifically, Aubrey, whom the leader of Team Bigsby seems to have a grudge against. We are asking that you sign this petition to show your support for Aubrey Jones and BLM757. Aubrey is an agent for positive change in the 757 and indeed, all over Virginia, and even the entire world. Please band with BLM757 as we support Aubrey in his ongoing fight for justice. Your signature means more than you think.

*** IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TOWARDS LEGAL FEES*** Please CashApp $JaPharii or Venmo BLM757VA