Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Police snatching Occupy Asheville participants in retaliation for Oakland solidarity march
On Nov 2nd over 100 people took to the streets of Asheville, NC in a fun, spirited and family friendly march to show support for Occupy Oakland and their general strike. People of all ages from toddlers to grandparents participated in the march carrying banners reading, “We are all Scott Olsen” and “Asheville is Oakland, Oakland is Asheville”. The march was the largest protest to take the streets in Asheville without a permit since the Iraq War started in 2003. By all accounts it was a well received and empowering event for those that participated in it. Unless that is you are the Asheville Police Department.
Though the APD did little to stop the march, they did bring out dozens of officers, including the forensics team and undercover officers to video and photograph Asheville residents expressing their First Amendment rights. The APD has done this sort of unconstitutional surveillance for years at all types of protests. However this time is different. Starting Saturday Nov 5 the APD began grabbing Occupy Asheville participants off the streets that they claim they identified from police footage of the march. So far 7 have been arrested, and the police say there are many more arrests on the way. They are being charged with resisting public officers, impeding traffic, unlawful assembly. One person has an additional charge of wearing a mask in public.
This is a truly frightening assault on the right to protest in this country. The APD is utilizing the very same tactics that the repressive regimes of countries like Iran, Libya, and Egypt have used against their people. If marchers were breaking the law, why did they not arrest us on November 2nd? It is clear that the APD wants to create a state of fear and to conduct their operations behind the scenes, away from the cameras. We won’t let them do that. We will not go silently.
We are calling on our fellow Occupiers around the country to demonstrate in solidarity with Occupy Asheville and demand an end to the APD’s witch hunt. Make some noise for Asheville. Occupy Asheville will be rallying at 5pm on Wednesday, Nov 9th at the Vance Monument to demand an end to police repression and to show that we will not be silenced. Please support us by flooding the mayor and DA’s office with calls and emails all day and demand that all charges be dropped and that those responsible for this police operation be held accountable for violating our rights.
Mayor Terry Bellamy:
Phone: (828) 259-5600
Fax: (828) 259-5499
E-mail: mayorbellamy [at] avlcouncil.com
District Attorney Ron Moore
Phone: 828-259-3410
Fax: 828-259-3411
This is a truly frightening assault on the right to protest in this country. The APD is utilizing the very same tactics that the repressive regimes of countries like Iran, Libya, and Egypt have used against their people. If marchers were breaking the law, why did they not arrest us on November 2nd? It is clear that the APD wants to create a state of fear and to conduct their operations behind the scenes, away from the cameras. We won’t let them do that. We will not go silently.
We are calling on our fellow Occupiers around the country to demonstrate in solidarity with Occupy Asheville and demand an end to the APD’s witch hunt. Make some noise for Asheville. Occupy Asheville will be rallying at 5pm on Wednesday, Nov 9th at the Vance Monument to demand an end to police repression and to show that we will not be silenced. Please support us by flooding the mayor and DA’s office with calls and emails all day and demand that all charges be dropped and that those responsible for this police operation be held accountable for violating our rights.
Mayor Terry Bellamy:
Phone: (828) 259-5600
Fax: (828) 259-5499
E-mail: mayorbellamy [at] avlcouncil.com
District Attorney Ron Moore
Phone: 828-259-3410
Fax: 828-259-3411
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
I forgot about the mass arrests on the bridge in NYC. I guess Asheville is in third place.
Also, Asheville police have been caught on facebook joking about lynching Occupy Asheville participants: http://mountainx.com/article/37212/APD-employee-calls-Occupy-Asheville-p
From anarchistnews.org:
Asheville, Southern Appalachia: On November 2nd A diversity of rebels came together and accomplished what we see as the most successful Occupy Asheville-related protest to date. In solidarity with the General Strike in Oakland California, and in honor of Scott Olsen we took the streets without permission, marched for over half an hour and most importantly, we had the courage to not be intimidated into submission when the police repeatedly tried to force us onto the sidewalk. In a further gesture of defiance 24 people were later arrested at a post-march vigil for Scott Olsen, for refusing to disperse from the park after its 10pm close time.
As organizers of the march and as anarchists, we applaud this boldness as a positive step toward building strong, independent communities. The more we broke the rules and ignored the police, the more we built the strength of our growing movement. People power is the opposite of state power. We know this and the police certainly know this. That is why Scott Olsen was shot in the head and this systematic brutality is also what propelled Oakland to respond with the wildly successful and inspiring General Strike. Perhaps this also explains the Asheville Police Departments heavy-handed reaction to our march.
It is important to emphasis that this was the largest unpermitted march Asheville has seen since the anti-war protests of 2003 and although anarchists have taken the streets several times in the past few years, this was a far larger and more diverse group of people than any other similar action as of late. It is clear that something has shifted and that the occupation movement has helped inspire a new generation of struggle.
On Saturday, three days after the march, the word began circulating that retaliatory arrests had been and are being made. The police have begun issuing warrants and snatching people off of the street and from the General Assemblies, using a folder of photographs they compiled from the protest to identify and arrest alleged participants. Heavy surveillance techniques on the day of the march included at least two identified undercovers, as well as multiple agents photographing and recording video. We suspect that this level of surveillance and repression in response to a street march, is related to law enforcements preparation for next summers Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.
Occupy Asheville has released this information on Saturdays arrests:
“Arrestees include Natalie Nicolay, Joseph 'Virato' Bacanskas, Terry Whittey, and Lisa Landis. They all have been charged with Obstructing the Flow of Traffic, Unlawful Assembly with the common intent to commit disorderly acts, and Resist, Delaying, and Obstructing a Police Officer. Terry Whittey has a fourth charge, wearing a mask at a public demonstration.”
As of Sunday evening, reports are circulating about additional arrests.
The fact that police are coordinating a round up after the march while no arrests were attempted during it, has raised many questions. Some of our questions were answered by one arrestee who quoted an officer as saying they “were instructed by a sergeant to instead pull them away and arrest them individually to 'avoid causing a scene'." This information shows that the police seek to implement their repression in secret to avoid public scrutiny and the negative PR associated with such repression, as well as the possibility of galvanizing a stronger resistance. To us this looks like fascism.
Contrary to the efforts of the states hired thugs, they are in fact galvanizing a stronger resistance. We will continue to organize to take control of our own lives and we will stand together against the police, against their witch hunts and against the masters they serve. We ask for your solidarity as we do so.
-anarchists
From anarchistnews.org:
Asheville, Southern Appalachia: On November 2nd A diversity of rebels came together and accomplished what we see as the most successful Occupy Asheville-related protest to date. In solidarity with the General Strike in Oakland California, and in honor of Scott Olsen we took the streets without permission, marched for over half an hour and most importantly, we had the courage to not be intimidated into submission when the police repeatedly tried to force us onto the sidewalk. In a further gesture of defiance 24 people were later arrested at a post-march vigil for Scott Olsen, for refusing to disperse from the park after its 10pm close time.
As organizers of the march and as anarchists, we applaud this boldness as a positive step toward building strong, independent communities. The more we broke the rules and ignored the police, the more we built the strength of our growing movement. People power is the opposite of state power. We know this and the police certainly know this. That is why Scott Olsen was shot in the head and this systematic brutality is also what propelled Oakland to respond with the wildly successful and inspiring General Strike. Perhaps this also explains the Asheville Police Departments heavy-handed reaction to our march.
It is important to emphasis that this was the largest unpermitted march Asheville has seen since the anti-war protests of 2003 and although anarchists have taken the streets several times in the past few years, this was a far larger and more diverse group of people than any other similar action as of late. It is clear that something has shifted and that the occupation movement has helped inspire a new generation of struggle.
On Saturday, three days after the march, the word began circulating that retaliatory arrests had been and are being made. The police have begun issuing warrants and snatching people off of the street and from the General Assemblies, using a folder of photographs they compiled from the protest to identify and arrest alleged participants. Heavy surveillance techniques on the day of the march included at least two identified undercovers, as well as multiple agents photographing and recording video. We suspect that this level of surveillance and repression in response to a street march, is related to law enforcements preparation for next summers Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.
Occupy Asheville has released this information on Saturdays arrests:
“Arrestees include Natalie Nicolay, Joseph 'Virato' Bacanskas, Terry Whittey, and Lisa Landis. They all have been charged with Obstructing the Flow of Traffic, Unlawful Assembly with the common intent to commit disorderly acts, and Resist, Delaying, and Obstructing a Police Officer. Terry Whittey has a fourth charge, wearing a mask at a public demonstration.”
As of Sunday evening, reports are circulating about additional arrests.
The fact that police are coordinating a round up after the march while no arrests were attempted during it, has raised many questions. Some of our questions were answered by one arrestee who quoted an officer as saying they “were instructed by a sergeant to instead pull them away and arrest them individually to 'avoid causing a scene'." This information shows that the police seek to implement their repression in secret to avoid public scrutiny and the negative PR associated with such repression, as well as the possibility of galvanizing a stronger resistance. To us this looks like fascism.
Contrary to the efforts of the states hired thugs, they are in fact galvanizing a stronger resistance. We will continue to organize to take control of our own lives and we will stand together against the police, against their witch hunts and against the masters they serve. We ask for your solidarity as we do so.
-anarchists
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$75.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network