Tonight is giving me an eerie Nov. 25, 2006 feeling. Let me explain.

What's happening in cities across the US is the first time Americans have witnessed widespread destruction of police property in response to police violence.

I've seen this multiple times in Oaxaca, Mexico.

On June 14, 2006 state police tore through a tent city protest encampment of striking teachers. Riot police gassed & burned the camp and raided the union building. The big standout was a low-flying helicopter ferrying around a masked man firing tear gas rounds onto crowds below.

The governor at the time had come to power by what many here believed was election fraud and dirty tricks by a political party that had held a grip on power here for nearly 80 consecutive years. Once sworn in, he cracked down on political & social opposition & independent press.

Police violence against teachers and downtown residents set off a civilian uprising against the governor, his party and the police.

Protesters took over government buildings and shut down police stations. No uniformed police were visible on the streets for more than five months.

Meanwhile, teachers, social movements & citizens formed a highly organized & mobilized civil society. Huge, peaceful marches called for the governor to resign. They tried just about every nonviolent tactic; from petitioning for impeachment to economic shutdowns to hunger strikes.

Did those in political and police power see they were outnumbered & negotiate a settlement? No. They made a tactical retreat and took their violence underground.

That's when the plainclothes shootings started. The first involved a sniper who fired into a march from a hospital.

Then the nighttime drive-bys started. While the shooters were in plainclothes, they would sometimes use clearly marked municipal police pick ups and even ride with unmarked vehicles. These became known as 'las caravanas de la muerte' (death caravans) and they would shoot to kill.

So where was the federal government as a full-scale civilian uprising and violent and deadly pro-ruling party crackdown played out in one of its states over the entire summer of 2006?

Did I mention it was a presidential election year?

All the candidates craned their necks around to not look at what was happening here. At most there were some mealy-mouthed wishes for all sides to calm down and work it out.

The uprising and crackdown were ignored & many folks voted for the 'least worst' candidate with a shrug.

This was all before FB, Twitter & live-streaming. To inform the local public, protestors took over radio stations. Online news from the ground went out through IRC chatrooms, Indymedia and videos posted to then-new YouTube.

Current tools accelerate spread of (mis) information.

The commandeered radio stations helped inform the public as to the whereabouts of the 'death caravans' but also became an intense nightly dose of rumor-laden anxiety.

It's a feeling I'm sure anyone who is reading Twitter at this hour on this night is familiar with.

Fast-forward to after the messy presidential election. Lame duck admin decides to turn it's attention to the ongoing crisis in Oaxaca. Social movement stages a 2-day general strike, local political and police bosses go on a deadly offensive. Press workers targeted with live fire.

Pro-govt paramilitaries (some later identified as sitting officials and police) wounded and killed multiple people, including a US citizen Indymedia videographer.

Federal govt announces massive deployment of militarized federal police force. This was late Oct 2006.

Then-Interior Secretary swore 'on Jesus' name' there would be no violence. Wary and weary after months of paramilitary violence, sleepless nights and social polarization, many were hoping federal intervention would bring a semblance of justice. Some fairness after a long fight.

The day federal police marched in, older women met them at the frontlines with flowers, sending a message that Oaxaca's civil society was organized, peaceful & seeking justice.

It quickly became clear the militarized federal police were not sent to be mediators or peacekeepers.

The first thing the federal police did upon arrival was to dismantle the protest camp in the city's main square.

The social movement, which had turned to the federal govt to negotiate a peaceful outcome, felt betrayed.

Police power came to re-establish ruling party dominance.

The final straw was when federal police went to clear protestors out of the commandeered university radio station. Word went out over the airwaves & outraged locals turned out to defend their means of mass communication.

The heavily-equipped police suffered a humiliating defeat.

The video of the MPD retreat from the burning 3rd precinct building felt a lot like the PFP retreat from Cinco Señores.

Angry, betrayed and organized local people savoring an unprecedented moment... under a cloud of a nagging threat of future blowback.

In Oaxaca, that blowback came in the form of a strategized, premeditated and brutal crackdown on November 25, 2006.

The social movement that had held Oaxaca City for 5+ months in a manner often compared to the Paris Commune never fully recovered from the state-inflicted blow.

What happened on Nov. 25, 2006?

What was supposed to be a peaceful protest of the federal police actions in Oaxaca turned into a militarized police offensive. People were scattered and chased. Some groups fought back. Multiple buildings were set on fire. By whom remains unclear.

Dozens were arrested and sent on buses to a federal prison a 2 day drive away. Desperate family members tried to locate them before whereabouts was known. Rumors spread about arrest warrants for organizers. Snatch-and-grab street arrests had people looking over their shoulders.

I've seen nationwide protests in the US before, but not like this.

The response to come may be something a lot of people in the US have never seen.

Know who you can count on and keep them close.

The evident intentional targeting of journalists by police on Nov 25 had a notable result. Nearly all of the reporters based in Mexico City or elsewhere who would sometimes come to cover the uprising left. Those of us who live here and continued to report did so at personal risk.

Last night brought multiple examples from various US cities of police targeting clearly-identified working journalists.

Any doubt that this had a blessing up the chain of command was dispelled today when Trump called members of the press 'truly bad people with a sick agenda.'