Disrupt J20: protesters lock down, blockade Inaugural checkpoints

Update 11AM:anticapitalist bloc kettled but blockades holding, Mall nearly empty. Chants of "you want a wall you'ge got one!" as Trump supporters (MAGA'ts) turned away.

On the 20th of January, protesters managed to get out in the streets and blockade Inaugural checkpoints in spite of a blizzard of harassment from Trump's paid unofficial brownshirts. Police as well were unable to pre-empt lockdowns that shut down multiple Inaugural checkpoints. They had to physically pry SURJ off the fence at one point. At 10:10 AM 6 out of 12 checkpoints were completely blocked, with passage through the rest slowed to a trickle. In 2009 terms this is "purple tickets for everyone.

At about 9AM Bikers for Trump showed up at some checkpoints but the lockdowns had arrived first. At 9:30AM Unicorn Riot reported "Clashes between protesters and police/secret service in blockade at corner of 10th and E St." but as of 10AM blockades are only getting stronger.

Not everything worked. The Anticapitalist bloc had a long way to go with the march-in from Logan Circle. A twitter report claimed the Bloc was "officially disbanded" after being pepper-sprayed but another report said the bloc was kettled, meaning a mass arrest or a fake mass arrest is possible. Reports of actual tear gas fired to disperse block, which then re-formed and was kettled, hundreds reported trapped. If this leads to a mass arrest it will be another Pershing Park-unless Trump changes the laws that is...

Shortly before 11AM the Mall was reported to be "empty as hell" with more protesters than inauguration spectators present. The blockades and the rain showers probably served up a double helping of "go home" to Trump's fans at least as of the morning.

At noon, Union Station was reported "packed with protesters." One of the few open checkpoints was overwhelmed with protesters going to ANSWER's permit area and other areas (only bleachers ticketed) along the parade route. At exactly 4 min 20 sec into Trump's speech, cannabis smokers lit up en masse as planned.

The mainstream media and worst of all FOX almost entirely ignored the checkpoint blockades, talking about the weather instead before the Anticapitalist bloc marched, then about the street fighting. Both the anticapitalist bloc and the checkpoint blockades were key parts of this action, and the blockades probably could not have held if so many cops were not tied down by the anticapitalist march.

At around 12:30PM, Trump was officially handed the control codes for US nuclear weapons, a danger to the entire planet.

The rise of Trump requires "politics with no quarter asked or given." In the Senate this means refusing the consent agenda, so that roll call votes on things like approving the minutes snarl and stop all other business just like a lockdown at a checkpoint. That would stop all Trump cabinet and judicial nominees and all GOP legislation behind an unsolvable logjam. It means fighting pipelines, fracking, and 287(g) style deportations programs state by state, county by county, city by city and never conceding an inch of ground no matter what happens. In the streets it means denying Big Business the ability to use infrastructure that belongs to the people, blockading business as usual until Trump's corpoate backing can be choked out-and orders Trump to tap out by resiging along with Pence.

Protesters chained to fence: Jeff Rae photo

Movement for Black Lives lockdown-Alexander Rubenstein photo

Alex Jones (Infowars/Trump) tries and fails to break through a checkpoint blockade.

Red Gate after a full hour of blockade

Movement for Black Lives, racial justice activists, Indigenous activists, labor activists, and animal rights activists combine forces at the checkpoint by the courthouse and MPD's own headquarters

Reformed Anticapitalist/Antifascist bloc on the move just before the kettle

Standing Rock at a checkpoint blockade

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