I spent some time this evening with the demonstrators at Freedom Plaza. Please note that this is actually the October 2011 demonstration, but their goals and ideals are compatible with the Occupy Together movement. A better term for referring to both would be the 99% Protests. All the issues interlock. I have edited the diary title to reflect this. An update note below explains more fully.
I dropped off bottled water and a few other things, and asked how the day had gone. Thursday had been a really good day, so I wasn't expecting the answer I got:
"Three of the Wisconsin contingent got pepper-sprayed in the face at the Air and Space Museum today, and one of the three got arrested."
"Who? Where are they? Would they be willing to talk to me? My blog buddies want to know how you guys are doing. People care, you know."
So the introductions began, and I found myself sitting on the paved steps with three young Badger Staters (with Violet jonesing for admiration and scritchies, of course -- you really thought I'd go to downtown DC, a woman alone after dark? Heh. Fat chance. I took my black Belgian shepherdess.) I asked them how they wanted me to refer to them in the blog post. They said I should use their real first names. They were Thi, CJ, and Jenna. Genuinely nice young adults, any mother or aunt would be proud of them, of their integrity and courage.
Between 2 and 2:30 PM EDT, ODC marched over to the Air and Space Museum, the Wisconsin contingent leading the way. This march was meant to end in a die-in by the special exhibit of drone aircraft, in order to peacefully protest the use of these craft in strikes that frequently injure and kill innocent civilians. The Air and Space Museum has an airlock type of entry, with two sets of doors before you step into the museum lobby, creating a vestibule. Thi, Jenna and CJ were among the first to go through the outer set of doors, with CJ ahead of Thi. Some of the museum's police contingent, part of the Smithsonian's security police force, met them in the vestibule. The Wisconsin crew never made it into the museum. They were met with a barrage of pepper spray.
According to Thi, the spraying was indiscriminate. Everyone in the vestibule was exposed, even other police. CJ got it the worst of the three, as he came the closest to the inner doors of the vestibule. He got a full shot of the spray in the face as the officer spread the stream of pepper spray in a wide, side-to-side wave. CJ said the can looked like it was a big can, spreading his hands to indicate something on a par with a big can of Lysol disinfectant spray. He described the spray as being similar to the streaming spray produced by some brands of insecticide. Thi and Jenna noted that even non-protestors were involved, with one woman getting a faceful of it. CJ remarked that there were children in the museum lobby, in particular noticing a Boy Scout troop. Jenna said the spray was so thick, you could see it hanging in the air.
All three suffered significant skin irritation. CJ tried to head out of the vestibule, sank to his knees and was dragged the rest of the way out by other marchers, where he collapsed onto the ground. People immediately surrounded him, pouring water and saline solution onto his skin, into his eyes, trying to flush out the pepper spray. He said it felt like his skin was on fire. Eight hours later, it was still just possible to see how his skin had reacted to the spray. At the time, it was much more noticeable, and very, very painful. Thi got her hands up to cover her eyes, but she too was hurt by the spray.
Jenna had the worst reaction of all. She managed to throw herself to the floor and got out of the vestibule, but she had what sounds like an allergic reaction. Her skin turned bright red from irritation, her eyes burned, and her lips and tongue began to swell. Other protestors and medical responders dumped water and saline onto her face, her throat and belly (she had pulled up her shirt to try to protect her face), and then wiped her eyes with medicated cloths. The first aid table later asked her if she had been to the hospital, and eventually someone found her an over-the-counter analgesic that also had some Benadryl in it.
For a more graphic depiction of this, go to Nathan Scheider's blog and Dennis Trainor Jr.'s blog. Margaret Flowers posted the following on October 2011:
The police closed the museum and have been falsely telling the public that the building was closed due to a bomb threat. [emphasis added]
At this point Thi had been isolated from the group of marchers. Jenna saw her standing in the vestibule with her hands over her eyes and being handcuffed. When CJ was able to look for Thi, he saw her sitting on the vestibule's floor, and then being taken to the ambulance for treatment. CJ noted that at first, he was told that Thi would not e charged at all, but within two minutes, that had changed.
Thi told me that once she had been handcuffed, there was significant confusion over whether she was being arrested or simply detained. In addition to the Smithsonian security team, the Park Police and Metro Police were called to the museum. Thi was isolated from the occupiers completely and passed from group to group of the various police responders. It appears they did not know what to do with her, who should have custody of her, and under whose jurisdiction she fell. Thi recalled her discomfort at being surrounded by so many male officers, and requested the presence of a female officer, as is her right. While there was initial reluctance, apparently on the part of the museum police, eventually a female officer was called to the scene. At some point in all of this, the police thought to check for her camera. The order was given to delete any video she might have filmed of this entire incident. The camera was still switched off, and it was left alone.
At this point a police sergeant referred to as Moe by the other officers was called. Further shuffling ensued until eventually she was taken by Metro police officer A. Lee to holding at a facility in Anacostia. Thi remained in holding for about 2 hours. No one seemed to know how to charge her -- would it be misdemeanor or felony? Was it assault of an officer or simply disturbing the peace? Eventually the police filed a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct in a public space, which carried a fine of $50. Other occupiers made the trek to Anacostia to bail out Thi and take her back to Freedom Plaza. No one is completely sure if this is the end of the story, or the museum police will try to press for further charges.
Throughout this entire situation, the Wisconsin people stayed just outside the Air and Space Museum. According to CJ and Jenna, the Park Police and Metro Police appear to be going out of their way to accommodate the occupiers as much as they can. Guidelines and rules are being stretched and bent as far as is possible. That is certainly consonant with what I observed of Metro police behavior on Thursday.
Why would the Smithsonian police overreact in this manner? There is a history at this particular Smithsonian institution. I have a great fondness for the Air and Space Museum, in particular their collection and display of early 20th century aircraft. It appeals to the history geek in me. But Air and Space has a darker texture to its special exhibits. Many of you no doubt remember the controversy that erupted in 1995 over the commemoration of the Enola Gay flights that resulted in the first nuclear detonations over the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The initial display design was carefully thought out and balanced between showing the awful weight of Truman's decision, its impact in ending World War Two in the Pacific (thus obviating the need for a massive amphibious assault on Tokyo, a la Normandy), and carefully, thoughtfully and accurately explored the impact of those detonations on the civilian populations and infrastructure of those two cities. It was to have been the kind of exhibit that could have brought balance to the discourse on the end of the Pacific war.
The Air Force Association, a veterans group with significant political clout in Congress, protested the new exhibit vociferously. An excellent overview from the Washington Post on the origins of the controversy is archived on H-ASIA here. Professor Martin Harwit, then-director of the Air and Space Museum, resigned under pressure. I lived in the DC metro area at that time, and I remember the controversy well. The tone of article after article and the editorial pages was one of acrimony and barely-veiled accusations of anti-American sentiment. The eventual exhibit wound up being a great disappointment to many serious historians, including noted Americanists, Asianists and military historians. Furtherattempts to mount a thoughtful and meticulously nuanced exhibit focusing on the Enola Gay's mission have also caused considerable heartburn. Gone was any serious, substantive discussion of the destruction of civilian populations, of the insane Cold War nuclear arms race. Given this institutional history and the current partisan makeup of the House of Representatives, I am not surprised that the planned protest adjacent to this drone exhibit met with resistance.
What does surprise me is the viciousness of the pepper spraying. Thi, CJ and Jenna, among several others I spoke with, agree that there was no provocation on the part of the occupiers other than their very attempt to enter the museum. A museum that our tax dollars fund, build, maintain and curate. The Air and Space Museum has, once again, missed an opportunity to present and discuss the variety of opinions around these issues of war, peace, environmental and human rights concerns, and spending priorities in trying to shield exhibits of military air technology from a form of protest that in no way threatened the integrity of the artifacts or their mountings. Air and Space Museum leadership should reflect deeply on Saturday's confrontation. It might be impertinent for me to suggest that they tender Occupy DC an apology for their security detail's heavy-handed response, but it seems like a damn good idea to me.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no Benadryl on site, neither tablets, nor topical sprays, creams and gels. The occupation needs it. DC area Kossacks, please, please take first aid supplies to Freedom Plaza. Benadryl is an acute need, in all forms. Multiple boxes would be a good idea. Bottled water and food of all sorts are also needed. Somebody take these good people some coffee Sunday morning, please!
6:47 AM PT: There appears to be a possibility that ODC was set up by an agent provocateur at the Air and Space Museum. That, or perhaps Patrick Howley of the American Spectator is just fabricating his tale in an effort to discredit the movement. None of the Wisconsin three even mentioned the presence of this guy. According to them, NO ONE got through the second set of doors in the vestibule.
That said, it behooves everyone participating in Occupy Together to beware of agents provocateur. One of these asshats could get somebody seriously wounded or killed. And remember to stick to Gandhian tactics! Think 20th century India, not 18th century France, and keep the moral high ground.
10:34 AM PT: A clarification is in order. after a lot of reading and double-checking, I've learned that Freedom Plaza is the site of the October 2011 demonstration protesting the continued wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as many other problems and issues. Their goals and sentiments complement the main Occupy DC site at McPherson. But these are not necessarily the same groups. Still, I would classify both movements under the umbrella of promoting the commonweal of the 99%. They should be natural allies.
Again, let's keep it peaceful out there!