An occupier participates in a little-known action in Zuccotti Park in the wee hours of the morning, drawing the blueprints of the #OWS encampment in chalk:
“From this angle all I can see are his boots, more particularly the black military boot, buckled in silver that is blocking my ability to finish my chalk drawing. It is three in the morning and I am about to be arrested. I am using chalk to draw out the blueprints of where the tents had been prior to the dismantling of the Occupy Wall Street encampment by the NYPD in Zuccotti Park.”
“Yesterday, I was free.”
An occupier reflects on his arrest on #S17:
It was wonderful. Each time I heard a new story of the actions taking place on the street after I was picked up I felt like I was missing something; but I also knew the community we formed in our cells was one of the most incredible things that would happen all day; one of the most liberating things I would ever feel.
Denver police use intimidation to try to squash an anti-police-brutality march in solidarity with Anaheim, causing some arrests:
Sergeant Andrejasich barked at us that “if you go in the street again, we will arrest you.” This threat seemed absurd given that whenever we march, DPD’s vehicles that follow us essentially shut down traffic anyway. Sergeant Andrejasich was clearly hoping that by threatening arrest and possible violence, he could frighten our solidarity march into giving up and going home. He should know by now that Occupy Denver doesn’t play like that. Having seen DPD use violence or the threat of violence countless times to attempt to silence dissent, I figured someone should resolve Sergeant Andrejasich’s confusion about the relationship between his department and our subversive assembly.
#M17: An Actor’s Long Day’s Journey Into Occupy
It’s safe to say, however, the events of March 17th 2012 have changed me and I will never be the same. Whatever your feelings are about Occupy Wall Street, I think any rational person can see the tactics used by the NYPD are absolutely unacceptable. Cecily McMillan left for the hospital on a stretcher with a broken rib. Another protestor suffered a panic attack and was manhandled for it. One protestor had a black eye and marks all over his face from police officers punching him. One occupier suffered a broken thumb and an injured jaw. It was a disgraceful scene and the NYPD was entirely responsible for creating it.
An actor transforms from supportive activist to committed occupier on #M17.
How Do You Sleep at Night?
I threw my arms in the air in an attempt to visually reinforce that I was not resisting any type of arrest, only their blatant disregard for our right to peaceably assemble. I was thrown backwards into the sea of blue, my arm still being squeezed by the brute. I screamed “I DO NOT HAVE TO LEAVE, THE PARK IS NOT CLOSED.”
He rang my arm tighter. “If you don’t get the fuck out, I’m going to arrest you.”
Camraderie in the Streets, Tenderness in Between Struggles
We Are All Mark Adams!
You may have heard about our friend and comrade Mark Adams, a member of the OWS community who, earlier this week, was sentenced to 45 days on Rikers Island.
Here is a report on Monday night’s march in solidarity with Mark, and the candlelight vigil that followed afterwards outside Revered Cooper’s home.
We revisit the occupation of Duarte Square on D17 as activist Mark Adams prepares to serve forty-five days in jail after a judge handed down a guilty verdict this week stemming from his arrest in Duarte Square.
My Near-Arrest Outside the NATO 3 Indictment
An activist with Occupy Chicago attends the indictment for the NATO 3 and faces police intimidation.
