Evans gave one more warning, and police then began the arrests. --- case closed
they were granted the right to protest but weren't afforded lawlessness. obey the law or pay the price On Oct 12, 10:34 am, excalliber stevens <[email protected]> wrote: > Boston Police Arrest 100 Anti-Wall Street Protesters > By Kate Randall > 12 October, 2011 > WSWS.org > Boston Police arrest protesters PHOTO COURTESY OCCUPYBOSTON.COM > Boston Police carried out an early morning raid on anti-Wall Street > protesters Tuesday, arresting 100 people in a violent attack on the > Occupy Boston protest. The police operation began at about 1:20 a.m., > when officers in uniform and riot gear moved in to clear protesters > from a section of land in the city’s financial district. > > The police action followed a day of protests Monday in which several > thousand Boston-area students came out to rally in support of Occupy > Boston. As in protests that have spread to dozens of cities across the > country, participants are being driven by a profound anger over > unprecedented levels of social inequality and the domination of > corporate power over all aspects of social life. > The brutal police assault on the Boston protesters expresses the real > attitude of the ruling elite to this growing movement, and is an > indication of the methods that will be utilized against protesters in > other areas as it continues to gather momentum. Boston Mayor Thomas > Menino, a Democrat, stated, “I understand they have freedom of speech > and freedom of expression, but we have a city to manage… civil > disobedience will not be tolerated.” > Boston Police arrest protesters PHOTO COURTESY OCCUPYBOSTON.COM > Now nearing its second week, the Boston protest has steadily grown in > numbers. Occupy Boston protesters have set up a tent city in Dewey > Square on a section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, with hundreds of > people sleeping overnight on a regular basis. On Monday, protesters > began expanding their occupation to an adjacent area of the Greenway, > erecting new tents. > Until Tuesday’s early morning raid, the Boston Police Department had > adopted a generally hands-off approach to the protest. But on Monday > afternoon, protesters began to notice a heavy police presence in the > area. Police told protesters Monday evening that they would face > arrest unless they vacated the area of the Greenway where they had > expanded their protest. > At about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday, Police Superintendent William Evans and > Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis stood across the street from the > new occupation area. Speaking over a bullhorn, Evans gave the crowd > two minutes to disperse, warning they faced arrest if they did not > comply. Police lined up on Atlantic Avenue and minutes later dozens of > sheriff’s vans and police wagons arrived. More than 200 officers > surrounded the section of the Greenway occupied by the protesters. > An Occupy Boston protester told the World Socialist Web Site later > Tuesday, “They came down with dogs, batons, riot gear, scare tactics. > It was just disgraceful!” The group responded with chants of, “The > people united will never be defeated,” “This is a peaceful protest,” > and “The whole world is watching.” > After about 10 minutes, the police entered the park and surrounded the > protesters. Evans gave one more warning, and police then began the > arrests. Each protester was shoved to the ground on his or her > stomach, cable-tied, and dragged off to waiting police vans. Members > of Veterans for Peace had formed a line in front of the mostly young > protesters and police broke through their barrier. Vietnam Veteran > John Niles, 74, was knocked down, but evaded arrest. > Protester James Woods, 52, told the Boston Globe that he saw police > “aggressively manhandling women,” and that police had used pepper > spray on some people. As protesters were hauled away, their tents, > clothes, cameras and other belongings were thrown into a dumpster. > Police use stick on Occupy Boston protester PHOTO COURTESY > OCCUPYBOSTON.COM > Urszula Masny-Latos, who was on the scene as a legal observer, told > the Globe that the police “really attacked. They used force that was > completely unnecessary… it was just brutal. I have no idea why they > arrested us with such force.” > To her surprise, she was arrested herself, although she was wearing a > green hat with the words “legal observer.” She said the Boston police > usually respect the rights of legal observers at public protests. Four > medics were also arrested. > Masny-Latos also said that the violence of the arrests was contrary to > the technique routinely used at other peaceful protests, in which > police approach the protesters, inform them they are violating the > law, and the protesters may then submit to be taken into custody. > The male arrestees were held in custody or ordered to appear in court > Tuesday. The first group of men made appearances yesterday afternoon > in Boston Municipal Court. All of the women arrested were released by > police and were due in court Wednesday or Thursday. > As of mid-Tuesday, 10 men who had been released by police and nine who > were still in custody were notified that Suffolk County prosecutors > had requested that charges against them be changed from criminal > violations to civil infractions. The protesters were ordered to pay a > $50 assessment fee to the court. > Boston Police move in to arrest Occupy Boston protesters PHOTO > COURTESY OCCUPYBOSTON.COM > The day after the arrests, Police Superintendent Evans defended the > heavy-handed methods of the police. Elaine Driscoll, a spokesperson > for the Boston Police Department, justified the repressive tactics > used on the peaceful protesters saying the police “have the right to > protect themselves” and claiming that “all our officers were > respectful and proportional.” > Mayor Menino defended the police while at the same time claiming to > sympathize with those who had been arrested. Echoing the comments of > other Democratic politicians on the anti-Wall Street protests, Menino > said, “I agree with them on the issues. Foreclosure, corporate greed. > These are issues I’ve been working on my entire career.” > However, he said protesters had “crossed the line” Monday, when they > marched on a bridge in Charlestown following the student rally and > threatened to block traffic, and then expanded their campground to the > newly renovated area of the Greenway and refused to leave. > The police crackdown in Boston, following mass arrests in New York, > Des Moines and other cities, represents one element of a two-pronged > strategy being employed by the ruling class against the burgeoning > anti-Wall Street protests. On the one hand, the Democratic Party, > utilizing the services of the trade unions and their pro-Democratic > pseudo-left allies, have sought to co-opt the protests and channel the > genuine outrage expressed by the participants behind that big business > party and President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. > This would render the incipient movement against social inequality and > the domination of the banks and corporations politically harmless and > transform it into a another prop for the capitalist two-party system, > just as the movement against the war in Iraq was subverted and then > shut down by tying it the Democratic Party and its various election > campaigns. > After three years of right-wing, pro-corporate policies, the Obama > administration is engaged in a demagogic public relations campaign to > portray itself as a populist friend of the “middle class.” The > centerpiece of this effort is Obama’s “American Jobs Act,” a pro- > business bill that would provide only a token number of jobs and do so > by draining Social Security of funds and extending more tax breaks to > the corporations. > This measure is linked to an austerity plan that would cut hundreds of > billions of dollars from social programs, including Medicare and > Medicaid. And in Orwellian fashion, Obama is pretending to support > higher taxes on the rich even as he pushes a bipartisan tax “reform” > scheme that would slash tax rates for corporations and the wealthy. > Obama is combining campaign-style town hall meetings in various cities > to promote his phony “jobs bill” with fundraisers at which he collects > pledges and checks from multi-millionaire corporate executives and > bankers. > Typical of the cynicism of the Democrats’ attempts to portray > themselves as allies of the anti-Wall Street protesters were the > remarks of Obama senior adviser David Plouffe. Interviewed Tuesday on > ABC’s “Good Morning America” program, he said, “If you’re concerned > about Wall Street and our financial system, the president is standing > on the side of consumers and the middle class.” > In their effort to corral the anti-Wall Street movement and prevent it > from developing into a broader movement of the working class outside > the control of the Democratic Party, forces allied to the Democrats > are seeking to take organizational control of the protests. The New > York Times on Tuesday pointed to the role of the Center for American > Progress, headed by former Clinton White House Chief of Staff John D. > Podesta, in “sometimes working in recent weeks with labor unions… from > talking points to the realm of organizational guidance.” > But as the anti-Wall Street movement spreads, the political > establishment is becoming increasingly concerned that the protests > will move out of the orbit of the two big-business parties and in an > increasingly anti-capitalist direction. Thus the supposed “support” > for the movement is combined with violent police attacks intended to > terrorize and intimidate, and deter new forces from becoming involved. > In Des Moines, 32 demonstrators were arrested Sunday night and charged > with trespassing after Republican Governor Terry Branstad ordered > state police to enforce a requirement to close state capitol grounds > at 11 p.m. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the city manager has threatened > similar action against Occupy Grand Rapids demonstrators. > On Tuesday, in Washington DC, six people were arrested at the Hart > Senate Building after about 100 protesters filled the building’s > atrium, ... > > read more » -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
