Bill just provided this quote to fellow organizers.
The only thing we need in here is more company. We don't need your sympathy, we need your company.
Police have also changed their minds: People will be held till Monday in effort to deter more protests. The Police do not want the civil disobedience to continue when the new memorial is dedicated to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
U.S. Park Police are holding over 50 people in jail tonight through Sunday night for participating in a peaceful sit-in that took place at the White House this morning.
…The determination was made that participants would be held until Monday, with the exception of 9-15 DC area residents who will be released this evening. Participants were then transferred to Central Cell Block in Metropolitan Police Headquarters until they appear in court on Monday.
Attorneys will have the opportunity to visit with some of the locked-up participants over the weekend. The attorneys expect that the defendants will be brought into court on Monday afternoon and will be charged and released at that time. As of now, participants have been charged with failure to obey a lawful order, although it is possible that additional charges will be added. Attorneys expect that all will be released by Monday evening.
On a phone call late this afternoon, U.S. Park Police told organizers of the sit-in that the jail time was expressly intended as a deterrent for future participants.
The Park Police were especially concerned that sit-ins would continue during the week of events beginning on August 28 surrounding the dedication of a new memorial to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest exponents of creative nonviolence.
In multiple phone calls and in person meetings before today’s sit-in, the Park Police had previously assured organizers that participants in the protest would be facing a “post and forfeit” situation, meaning they would pay a $100 fine and be released the same day. While participants in this morning’s sit-in were trained the evening before to prepare for the worst, many were operating on the “post and forfeit” assumption due to police assurances.
Bloggers involved in the Stop Tar Sands blogathon this past week will be providing updates like this for the next two weeks.
Boatsie and I are also working on a take-action item for early next week. If you would like to join us, please email me at patriotdaily@gmail.com. Thanks.
update by boatsie:
Sample Tweet: Police escalation in DC at #tarsands protest wonât stop 2,000 activists expected. #noKXL Read more at www.tarsandsaction.org/not-deterred.
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