DC Police Arrest 11 Protesters Occupying City-Owned Building
- Posted on November 19, 2011 at 8:35pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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(The Blaze/AP) — District of Columbia protective services police on Saturday arrested 11 protesters and charged them with unlawful entry after officers cleared a city-owned building in downtown Washington that had been occupied by a group inspired by Occupy D.C.
Supporters of the protesters cheered as officers led demonstrators outside in handcuffs and into two police vans.
The group Free Franklin began occupying the four-story Franklin School on Saturday, protesting the lack of housing for homeless people. The historic building served as a homeless shelter until 2008.
Participants with handkerchiefs over their faces lowered a black banner from the roof that said “Public Property under Community Control.” More than 60 supporters gathered in a park near the historic building and cheered the protesters. The building is two blocks from Occupy D.C.’s encampment.
Group spokeswoman Abigail DeRoberts said earlier Saturday that protesters plan to remain in the building indefinitely. A statement on the group’s blog read:
“The closure of Franklin Shelter was not an isolated incident; it is part of a wave of austerity measures and structural adjustment policies that are mirrored all over the U.S. and globally, the policies of capitalism pushed by the 1%.
Structural adjustment locally and nationally has removed land, plants, buildings, and other community resources from the hands of the people into corporate control. The U.S. government spends trillions of dollars to perpetuate imperialist wars and occupations overseas, and to unjustly imprison millions of people, criminalizing the activities of immigrants and people of color, in a ballooning prison system. Then, the federal and local governments push austerity measures that most impact poor and working class people by slashing funding for basic services for our communities. The crisis of homelessness in DC is part of a larger crisis of affordable housing, with years of rampant gentrification displacing low-income people of color from their homes and from the city, and the foreclosure crisis caused by un-checked banks who continue to rake in record profits while more and more families lose their homes.”
Police watched as protesters hung the banner and later called firefighters and more officers to the scene.
Protesters said police and firefighters then entered the building with crow bars and other instruments. Supporters blocked alleys around the building and chanted, “We are the 99 percent.”
Demonstrators blocked alleys next to the building even after police officers went inside. The Washington Post reports that protesters had formed a human chain in an alley with hopes of preventing other rescue workers from entering the building.By early evening, the banner had come down.
A spokesperson for Mayor Vincent Gray told ABC7 in Washington that the protesters in the building at 13th and K Street, NW “will be removed and arrested.”
Louis Cannon, chief of the D.C. Protective Services Police, told The Associated Press that 11 protesters were arrested inside the building, including eight men and three women. Each will be charged with unlawful entry and could face up to a year in jail and a fine if convicted of the misdemeanor charge. He said none put up any resistance when they were arrested.
“We did a sweep of the building and they were all on the roof,” said Cannon, whose agency protects D.C. government-owned, -leased and -managed facilities and property.
The chief said the building is now boarded-up and welded shut, and police are investigating how the protesters gained entry.
He said the building has been vacant since 2008. Cannon said his agency was called to the scene at about 3 p.m. and had cleared the building by 7 p.m., with help from dozens of officers from the Metropolitan Police and U.S. Park Police
Following the arrests, more than 50 protesters remained in the middle of 13th Street, NW, which was blocked off by police cars. Some chanted, “Our children’s future is not for sale.” More officers arrived at the scene, but the crowd began to break up after the building had been cleared and the arrested protesters taken away.
Protester Ray Valentine of Washington said she felt that the protest had been effective in reopening the conversation about the former homeless shelter because she said the city wants to privatize a public building.
“D.C. is a city that’s getting more and more expensive to live in, and the programs that help people keep living here are continuing to be cut,” she said.
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Comments (71)
EqualJustice
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 10:41amDC too expensive to live? WELL MOVE. That’s what I did. OR get yourself one of those glitzy gob’ment jobs or SUE someone? That seems to work, too.
Report Post »NOTAMUSHROOM
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 10:25am“protesting the lack of housing for homeless people.”
What part of homeless don’t they understand?
How about “illegal immigrants”? What part of illegal don’t they understand?
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 9:28amLack of housing for homeless people? Duh…
Report Post »barber2
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 7:12amThis is beginning to sound like Zimbabwe: taking over ( code word: Occupy) public property. Or maybe inspired by the youth wing of the African ANC Party. Hmmm. Now where would these ideas be coming from ? Hmmm… Has Julius Malema visited Mr. Obama lately ?
Report Post »SLEUTH
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 7:52amlets see, the authorities let these thugs brake local laws all month long but now they draw a line when they take over a public building? it wouldnt get this far if the authorities enforced the laws to begin with.
Report Post »Living In NYC
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 6:36amCHOICE ONE:
Go visit Barrack’s (your elected manchild) step brother in Kenya….We will be happy to give you fools a blue tarp and a refrigerator box and see how he lives as well as 99.0% of the rest of the WORLD lives.
CHOICE TWO:
Report Post »Go get a bath and get a job ..don’t try to make the United States a third world country!
Polwatcher
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 6:18amWe need to keep our eye on the ball. These demonstrations are designed to appeal to the younger people who are long on emotions and short on facts (and heavily unemployed). Young people love the OWS creeps. Wall street is a well designed machine that can make investors’ money come to them through the markets. They have learned how use high performance software to help them capitalize on risk and they have also learned how to manipulate our crooked politicians. The reason our crooked politicians support the OWS creeps is because OWS deflects blame from the crooks in Washington to the crooks in Wall Street. Remember that any blame of OWS or defense of Wall Street enhances the power and re-election prospects of the crooks in Washington. The MSM knows this and this is why it is on TV 24/7.
Report Post »Cynic-clinic
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 10:54amThe crooks in Washington you speak of, meaning members of Congress, may soon be just as vilified as bankers. Word is spreading fast that congressional people and lobbiests have both, in collusion, been engaging in insider stock trading and making some big bucks doing it. As usual, Congress has exempted themselves from the very laws they make to keep us honest while giving themselves free rein to indulge in the spoiles of the masses.
I hope to live long enough to see the whole bunch of them frog-marched in handcuffs out of Washington.
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on November 21, 2011 at 9:55am@Cynic-Clinic
The crooks in Washington outnumber the crooks in Wall Street by at least 100:1. The Washington crooks must be that 99% we hear about.
Report Post »Dalady
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 12:05am“the policies of capitalism” shut down a homeless shelter…try policies of bureaucracy. Even Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity couldn’t overcome the bureaucracy in NYC and had to abandon plans for a homeless shelter. If these demonstrators ever get a clue, it will probably be too late.
Report Post »Shiroi Raion
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 3:11amThat they’re demonstrating in the foolish manner that they are tells me… it will be snowing in Bermuda before they ever have a clue. OWS cannot lead to anything good. What do they think they’re doing? Bringing awareness to problems with corruption and the economy? The Tea Party did that and offered a solution: reduce spending and throw the bums out. Most of these pinheads think more government, more spending, and Socialism will help? That can only worsen the problems.
@Tifosa and trolls
Report Post »How can you spend so many hours a day spewing hate on Conservative/Libertarian sites? I don’t bother visiting Liberal sites myself. It’s a waste of time. I hear plenty of Liberal whackos on Fox News. There’s no getting through those thick skulls. If Democrats were honest, they would try cutting spending before raising taxes. They know cutting spending and reducing regulations would work, so they refuse to allow it without tax increases because they know it would prove the Tea Party was correct all along. Democrats fear the truth. This is not a biased opinion. I don’t give a hoot about the Republican party. I just see far more dishonesty and hypocrisy within the Democrat party, so I’ll vote Republican until I see otherwise.
Rayblue
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 11:53pmOccupation is their occupation.
Report Post »Desolation is their destination.
Eradication of education is their contribution.
Confrontation is their solution.
asybot12
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 3:57amcould not have put it better , thank you
Report Post »MMSands
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 5:00amPositively poetical! Nice!
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 2:30pmNice indeed.
Report Post »EqualJustice
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 11:37pmMaybe they should OCCUPY AMALGAMATED BANK? You know the 100% UNION owned bank with the “WE SUPPORT OWS” sing in their window on WALL STREET? hahahahaha MORONS. http://www.youtube.com/user/veritasvisuals?blend=23&ob=5#p/u/0/aEq5w2-6X14
Report Post »wrenmark
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 11:33pmObama is the cause of this….he promised to bring the country together and instead has created this class warfare mentality. He has divided this country and will go down in history as the “Great Divider”.
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 9:33amI agree 100%. What he’s doing, though, is putting together that police force that answers to no one but him, as he said during his campaign. ( hope he has lotsa body armor for them )
Report Post »barber2
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 11:00pmThis is a typical Lefty move: Castro , Chavez, etc. Nationalizing industries/ ending private ownership of businesses and property/ “re-distributing” wealth. It’s all the same revenge stuff. In Zimbabwe , they just take the farms of white farmers who have owned productive land for years and give it to “native born” Africans in the name of “social justice” ( revenge ) End result: chaos. The Africans do not have the skill to make the land productive. That is the end result of Big Daddy Government ‘s “social justice.” Always the same. Check out the USSR, young Oabama-files. Socialism/Communism never work: genocides and bankrupt countries are the end result. Do your own research, young people. Your professors are Far Lefty social -ideologues who have failed to learn the lessons of history…
Report Post »asybot12
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 4:11amI was really waiting for your comment you are right. I have friends in SA ( and will not leave) that truly love the now defunct country, including ,as they have explained to me is now (after the wonderful arab spring in North Africa ) the complete disruption of the whole continent. The only thing they see today is a complete take over by Chinese and other communist countries that are only there for the resources. At least the western colonisers in the past educated the people there they told me but now it is just a mess ( they carry weapons one of their parents was shot over a pack of smokes!) the black population now has their own money grabbing dictators the OWS should just try to do what they are doing in Zimbabwe they be DEAD in an hour!!
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 10:41pmMasks over their faces… Nice black banner…. Heavily planned movements… No resistance… Making the cops look bad… Lots of money to pay for all of the propaganda… Nice little innocent useful idiots. Perhaps it is time to make the punishments for these acts of insurrection fit the crimes. No more slap on the wrist. I’m thinking about the prison tents out west (Arizona?) in the middle of the desert. Bread & water & no electronics. Oh, I think their Union salaries of $500.00 a week to protest should be taken away to pay for repairs to damages they have caused. I can always dream, can’t I?
Report Post »barber2
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 7:25amAh, the Anarchists have arrived ! Brought a ton of destruction to old London town in August. Have they inspired their American knucklehead brothers to do the same? Whenever you have anarchist, you will have destruction. They are filled with HATE , mentally ill – sort of our Western version of the suicide bombers. Only difference is that our Western version just likes to destroy stuff…not themselves so much..
Report Post »YoungBloodNews
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 10:19pmSilly American OWS’ers, thought they could squat like their UK counterparts…. Oh wait, whats that? The Blaze didn’t cover the UK OWS squatting a bank and getting away with it due to UK law…. Another story missed by this crack team of reporters (yes I joke, the blaze is ALWAYS late to the party) ;)
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 11:31pmI Googled this several different ways and could find nothing….. would you supply a link please?
And no I do not take your word for it… nor the blaze either for that matter.
SO…. link / url please.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 7:21amJust more of the usual arrogant preening of a Lefty.
Report Post »GONESURFING
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:53pmGive them a break, these dummies are just practicing for their station in life, homeless.
Report Post »possom
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:26pmWhy do these idiot‘s occupy place’s that don’t make a difference? They should all go to washington and occupy the government building’s, I‘m sure the white house has plenty of shower’s and bed’s!
Report Post »RossPoldark
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:35pmObuma and Washington DC are the root cause of the corruption, and yet, you try and tell them this, and they go ballistic! They still hold obuma as their God!
Report Post »RossPoldark
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:17pmhttp://www.freedomadvocates.org/about_us/ Obuma+cronies plans to destroy America
Report Post »http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-ows-demands/ OWS bizarre demands
http://pjmedia.com/zombie/2011/10/31/the-99-official-list-of-ows/ Who is backing the OWS and many of them are ignorant of it.
garyM
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:13pmI think the OWS movement is occupied with demons! There motto, “ we are many”
Mark 5
3Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
Report Post »RossPoldark
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:38pmJesus needs to come NOW, and pronto!! He has his job cut out for him, but if anyone can subdue these demons it is he!!
Report Post »AllSmyles
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 3:57pmStraight out of the first chapter of Ann Coulture’s book DEMONIC. A great read, recommend all read.
Report Post »garyM
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:06pmLooks like NYC has need of a prison that will hold 99%!
Report Post »CatB
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:10pmSend them to Northern Lower Michigan .. I know one that just closed putting most of a small town out of work. They would GLADLY go back to work.
TEA!
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:13pm@Catb
Northern lower Michigan? But that would put them under the bridge. And then we could call them trolls…
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:03pmAnarchist and Lawbreakers are part of OWS, and are embraced by Unions, prominent Democrates, Hollywood and Obama’s MSM. That is what makes up your 99%, not Anerica’s
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:02pmThese protesters will keep on escalating the matters until the violence starts on their part; and the admin will make them look like the victims.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 8:50pmI am surprised that the“Homeless ” have been mentioned at all with Barry as president After all,when Bill Clinton was president the MSM never could find a homeless person, only when GB< RR< GWB did they venture out amongst the great unwashed and brought forth the homeless grail. But alas, I forget, everything that is going bad is still George Bush's fault. Only the success's are claimed by Barry. If I could only think of just one.
Obliterate Barry Nov 2012
Report Post »tifosa
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 8:47pmClearly they have succeeded in their OccupyTheBlaze efforts :)
Report Post »crackerone
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:50pm@ Tranny in for Obama’s soft a++
Shouldn’t you be under a desk somewhere?
Report Post »barber2
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 7:17amHuh? These idiots, like Lee Harvey Oswald, have been “noticed” but not for doing anything beneficial . Think it is far more important as to WHY one is noticed than for just being noticed. Young people seem to have forgotten that old moral standard.
Report Post »SoupSandwich
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 11:20amTrolls can’t be fairies too. Is it a Jungian thing?
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 8:46pmI think they should go occupy Area 51. THAT I would like to see on YouTube.
Report Post »Jomil48
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:02pmtake a good look at them, I think a few came from there.
Report Post »Overmanwarrior
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 8:42pmI’m sure Mrs. Pivan is proud, her useful idiots are doing well by her standards. The more this stuff goes on, the more shocked I am. I just found out that some of the protestors in New York were topless. Isn’t that against the law? I thought so. You can’t go topless on a beach in the United States, but you can in New York?
http://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/topless-wall-street-protestors-we-are-at-war-and-public-eduction-built-the-soldiers/
Report Post »RossPoldark
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:24pmThey ARE useful idiots. Many are ignorant of Pivan’s plans to use them as pawns. Case in point, Beck featured an article about OWS, that showed up at a Rumsfeld charity dinner. They called him out as a criminal of war. After wards when these ows had been kicked out, the fat woman who had stood up and shouted toward Rumsfeld made the comment, something to the affect:’ they are afraid of us, because they think we are socialist, or Marxist, but we aren’t!!!!” They don’t even know that they, the OWS, are indeed being used as useful idiot pawns by Pivan,Cloward, Ayers, Obuma and the other sewer rat Marxists!!
Report Post »tifosa
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:40pm♫”Baabaa Becksheep have you no free will…?”♫
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 10:27pmtifosa: What an odd thing to post.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 3:13pmTif
Chant After Me
Owa
Report Post »Tagoose
Iam
KangarooJack
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 8:41pmSo if I live nearby one of these protests-would it be ok for them to occupy my home because they need a place to stay? Wait-they will start with the (in their minds) Rich and then work their way on down to anyone that has a home.
Report Post »I’m alarmed that the Fire Dept. was involved. The situation is NOT under control and FF’s are not Police.
Jomil48
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 8:47pmlet them come to my home, they might check in, but they won’t check out.
Report Post »KangarooJack
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 8:53pmlol roach motel
Report Post »Jomil48
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 9:00pmjust like it
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on November 20, 2011 at 2:35pm“So if I live nearby one of these protests-would it be ok for them to occupy my home because they need a place to stay? Wait-they will start with the (in their minds) Rich and then work their way on down to anyone that has a home”
Exactly. they will rationalize it in some way. You make more money. You are from the wrong group. You had breaks that they didn’t. If you have a vacation home you don’t really need it.
If you are relocating due to a job, & haven’t sold your old home, you can afford to “give it” to some one needier.
Report Post »