Posted by Tina
They came to protest and make trouble; some expected violence. What’s the gripe? You name it…the environment, capitalism, human rights, animal cruelty, and one group of “young protesters, many wearing masks or bandanas covering their faces…calling for the end of war, greater access to education, and the demise of capitalism…”. Many of the protesters chanted threatening messages; one came with phone books taped to his body for protection. A sampling from the article:
About 500 people marching in Lawrenceville ran into lines of police in riot gear about 3:15 p.m. Some officers struck protesters with batons as demonstrators scattered when canisters of pepper spray hit the ground. Protesters broke windows on police cars on Penn Avenue, threw rocks and rolled Dumpsters down streets. ** Protesters first rallied in Arsenal Park, then spread to streets around the park at 40th Street and Penn Avenue, some lying down in the street and others chanting: “Bankers, bankers, watch your back, we don’t protest, we attack!” ** Dozens of officers in riot gear also converged at the corner of Liberty Avenue and Osceola Street in Bloomfield after protesters smashed windows at a PNC bank branch there. ** Many of the protesters identified themselves as residents of Washington, D.C. and Rochester, NY. ** “We’re here to let leaders of the world know that education is a right and that the current way of doing things is not working,” said Deborah Hollingsworth, 30, of West Jefferson, NC.
The police are managing the unruly mob with professionalism; so far only one has been arrested.