Police/Legal/Prisons

Class-action lawsuit over the mistreatment of inauguration protesters

Submitted by repost on Wed, 01/25/2017 - 12:06

A lawyer who was providing legal support to Inauguration Day protesters in Washington sued police Friday over claims the authorities responded disproportionately with mass arrests, pepper spray and batons in response to the unrest that swept across downtown. The lawsuit was filed in Washington federal district court just hours after President Donald Trump took the oath of office. The inaugural ceremony kicked off a wave of protests and vandalism across downtown Washington.

Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Park Police officers, according to the lawsuit, surrounded a crowd near 12th and L streets and made arrests “without warning and without any dispersal order.” Benjamin Christopher Carraway, a Colorado criminal defense attorney, was the named plaintiff in the class action. The suit was filed on behalf of protesters, attorneys, legal observers, journalists and medics who, according to the complaint, were “subjected to this outrageous conduct by the defendants for no legitimate law enforcement reason.”

National Law Journal: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202777311810/On-Inauguration-Day-Suit-Alleges-Police-Abuses-at-AntiTrump-Protest?cmp=share_twitter&slreturn=20170025120024

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2017/01/inauguration-protests-police-lawsuit-233942

Civil Liberites/Constitution
Media
Police/Legal/Prisons

Urgent warning: Cops rooting through activist email accounts using stolen phones

Submitted by Luke on Tue, 01/24/2017 - 14:00

https://twitter.com/georgejoseph94 is reporting evidence that police are using cell phones stolen from activists caught in the mass arrest at DisruptJ20 to log into email accounts of activists. Anyone with such an account needs to change their passphrase and lock out their former devices, and may want to close and replace the offending accounts RIGHT NOW if possible.

Police/Legal/Prisons

Jan 2017:The first Month of Resistance to Trump

Submitted by Luke on Tue, 01/24/2017 - 02:50

Video compilation of protests and direct actions mostly in DC against Trump, against racism, and against fascism.

Video-23 Days of Resistance

Elections/Legislation/Government
Police/Legal/Prisons
Race/Racism
Right Wing

Trump protester shot by Neo-Nazi near Seattle Milo Yiannopoulos event-NO CHARGES

Submitted by Luke on Sun, 01/22/2017 - 14:22

On the 20th of January, Breitbart news editor and alt-right(neo-nazi) leader Milo Yiannopoulos had a speaking event at U-WA disrupted by anti-Trump/anti-fascist protesters. A 50 year old Nazi turned shot one of the protesters, who is now in critical condition at a hospital with a gunshot wound in the abdomen. The police chose to neither identify the shooter nor file charges according to Twitter reports.

Police/Legal/Prisons
Right Wing

Video: Disrupt J20-The Day In Resistance

Submitted by Luke on Sat, 01/21/2017 - 01:40

Video compilation of the days's events at the Counterinaugural/Disrupt J20 protests against Donald Trump. Checkpoint blockades, Alex Jones expelled, empty parade route, Richard Spencer punched, heroes rescue elder and disabled protester from police attack during Battle of K Street, limo burns, marches go on well into the night after a 7AM start. This is but the beginning of four long, hard years of utter fighting against every scrap of Trump's racist and fascist agenda.

Disrupt J20-The Day In Resistance

Elections/Legislation/Government
Police/Legal/Prisons
Race/Racism
Right Wing

Counterinaugural protests, disruption, police attacks continue, parade marches unuusally late

Submitted by Luke on Fri, 01/20/2017 - 18:02

On the 20th of January, police continued to fire flashbangs and pepper spray at determined protesters who refused to yield the streets hours after a potential next Hitler, Donald Trump, had been sworn into office. Cops reported "shooting at everybody" with chemical weapons. Anti-fascist fighters took losses to a mass arrest but there is a report that Richard Spencer got punched, and at least one limousine was attacked and set on fire. Meanwhile, the Inaugural parade did not start until 3:55PM, hours later than normal.l

Environment/Food/Health
Police/Legal/Prisons

Limo burning on K st.

Mass arrest of anticapitalist march after police fire tear gas, 270 total arrests reported

Submitted by Luke on Fri, 01/20/2017 - 11:31

Update Jan 21, 10:45PM:All arrestees out of processing, right-wing press beating their chests about felony riot charges with 10 year maximum. Charges confirmed by DisruptJ20 twitter. The Daily Mail et all must not be familiar with DC's world-class activist lawyers.

Update 6PM:270 arrests reported for the day, 6 cops injured. Mass arrest FAILED to stop battles between police and protesters in the K st (lobbyists Row) area, which went on many more hours.

With trump supporters being turned away en masse from the Mall by checkpoing blockades, the police have turned violent. Hundreds of marchers in the Antifascist/Anticapitalist Bloc were kettled, then unlawfully mass arrested after police firing tear gas for the first time in decades only temporarily dispersed the protesters. This was the first such mass arrest in 14 years. People are showing up "covered in pepper spray" at Disrupt J20's rear area safe spaces. Reports of journalists being targetted. One ONE report of a broken window. Meanwhile down at the checkpoints, blockades are STILL holding out after 3 hours.

Video-police fire pepper spray or gas, flashbangs at anticapitalist bloc

Elections/Legislation/Government
Police/Legal/Prisons

Disrupt J20 photo of police kettle against anticapitalist/antifascist bloc

Standing Rock update: Chemical weapons and rubber bullets at Backwater Bridge again

Submitted by Luke on Thu, 01/19/2017 - 00:09

On the 18th of January, as all eyes turned towards the Inauguration and related protests, police again fired chemical weapons and "less lethal" projectiles at water protectors at Backwater Bridge. This bridge has been barricaded for months and police have more than one used a great deal of violence there. One water protector said Standing Rock "looks like a war zone right now."

Update Jan 19: Linda Black Elk reports one water protector run down by police snowmobile, "unresponsive on scene. Transported to ER pray for her."

Environment/Food/Health
Police/Legal/Prisons
Race/Racism

Photo by Rionchama

15 arrested in Hart Building in Close Gitmo protest

Submitted by Luke on Thu, 01/12/2017 - 16:01

On the 11th of January, Witness Against Torture changed tactics in their annual protest on the anniversary of the opening of Guantanimo Bay. Instead of the annual "America's March of Shame" in the orange jumpsuits, they took over the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building and dropped banners from the balconies. Fifteen people were arrested.

Foreign Policy/Imperialism
Police/Legal/Prisons

Witness Against Torture demands Obama close GITMO

Submitted by Luke on Sat, 01/07/2017 - 15:51

On the 6th of January, Witness Against Torture held a protest near the White House demanding that Obama shut down Guantanimo Bay before he leave office. If GITMO is still open on Jan 20, Trump is expected to resume sending new detainees there. By pre-emptively closing it Obama can obstruct another part of Trump's fascist agenda.

Military/Weapons
Police/Legal/Prisons

Photo by Code Pink

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