The Tax Parade

The Tax Parade, or the Taxation Protests of January 8th, 2024, were a series of protests against the Huggie Union in Huggie City about high tax rates. The protests resulted in the Huggie City Police Force arriving on the scene to open fire at the peaceful protestors. The response from the police garnered immediate scrutiny, outrage, and condemnation from the people. 

Background

In late 2023, the Citizens Union, a non-profit human rights organization, planned a protest in Huggie City against the proposed tax system. Rich members urged Congress to sign a bill that would get rid of marginal tax rates (eg, someone who makes millions must pay a 37% tax on their income compared to someone who makes thousands must pay somewhere below 10%) and replace them with a standard 20% tax rate. The Citizens Union announced that the protest would be held on January 8th, 2024, and it would be called The Tax Parade.

Protest

Protesters gathered at around 10 AM on January 8th and began their march. The march went uninterrupted until about 11:32 AM, when police were notified by a "No Caller ID" that the protesters were supposedly taking up arms and shooting government buildings, rioting, and attacking civilians. Police arrived and began immediately rushing to the protest. At around 11:42 AM, protesters were stopped about 2/3 of the way through the protest. The meeting was a peaceful one.

Police response

The protesters denied the allegations, but some deputy marshals unexpectedly arrived and ordered all of the cops to take cover behind SWAT vehicles and police vehicles. Subsequently, at around 11:46 AM, the police began shooting every which way with no real target and arrested hundreds of fleeing protesters. Escapees were caught and arrested with a subsequent macing. The police quickly cleaned up the scene at around 11:50 AM before any news vehicles or investigators could arrive. Approximately three were killed, one-hundred forty-seven were injured, and over a thousand were arrested. Many heard police scream, "Ahh ****! The peoples are protesting! Run over the student protestors! Censor the media! Shoot them fast so the world won't know and honor Souza!!!" This quote was directly taken from the January 9th Huggie Times issue, page 4. 

Investigation and condemnation

The "No Caller ID" call that triggered the response was investigated at around 1 PM when the Huggie City Police Department declared an investigation. Many of the security cameras in the area at the time were shot deliberately, so not much footage was released, but some doorbell cameras and untouched cameras provided evidence. Most of the police officers happened to have their bodycams destroyed, taken off, or disabled. Four officers turned in their footage, and about two hundred police officers were placed in jail for the investigation. The "No Caller ID" call was somehow traced back to a rich elite that lived in the northern half of the country. The call was roughly transcribed to

[Caller]: Hello? Hello? Yes, I have immediate emergency. I know people, uhm, of protesting- yes, the protesting people, or what you call them...uhm, they are taking up arms, and they are shooting up Huggie City! Yes! I am there! I am there right now, very scared...Yes, I am...I no need help, but this city does!!!

[Responder]: Can we have your exact location and name?

[Caller]: I no know where I am right now, but I am in Huggie City, the uhm, the Tax Parade! Yes, the protest! They're rioters! Help immediately!!!

[CALL ENDS]

Many concluded that since it was a political elite who was not in the city and fabricating evidence, he might've made a call to 911 to prevent the protest from working and have the bill in Congress signed. He also could have made a deal with the police force, explaining their strange response. The final court case concluded on February 24th, 2024, resulting in the arrest of almost all of the police chiefs, about three hundred officers, and twelve deputy marshals. The rich elite fled, likely to the neighboring southern nation of Colis, and, as of June 2026, has not been located. He was likely the CEO of a farming company that had participated in shady business practices before, known as FarmNet.