Released It was an anti-climactic moment. The judge said I was free, the attorney nodded kindly to me and I turned around in the courtroom. I didnât even know which way was out. I walked past a few people sitting waiting for friends, out a set of double doors, into a hall where lots of people were milling about. I found a representative from the National Lawyers Guild and gave her my name telling her I had been released (earlier from a call inside the prison we had each given our names and any complaints). I wandered outside, crossed the street and found our supporters. All throughout the previous night we could hear people on the street chanting for our release and letting out whoops and hollers every few minutes, they were a blessing for those of us inside. They boosted our morale and we chose to believe that every whoop and holler meant someone else was released. I kept waiting for the whoops and hollers that would be mine. By the time I was released, 8:30pm, a lot of o! ur supporters had dwindled, but they were still there with food and water and hugs. One person I had befriended while inside rushed over to me and gave me a huge hug.
The next step was property pickup. Sarah and I had set that place as our meeting place and rather than find a pay phone and call my sister to see if she was out I thought Iâd get over to property pickup as fast as I could. The police had given us a sheet with directions when I got my property voucher but the route they described had been barricaded. I got pretty lost before I ended up at a trailer on the side of the road with a makeshift line formed out of police barricades and entirely surrounded by police. Sarah wasnât there although a lot of people said they had seen her back in jail and they thought she was on her way out soon. One person was so concerned that I find Sarah she offered to hold my spot in line so I could walk back to the courthouse to look for her. And thatâs where Sarah was, wandering around shaky and lost, teary and spent. There was no way she could have made her way to property pickup. I thank that women for enabling me to go find her. We waited together in line at property pickup for two hours. At one point barricaded in place, surrounded by police and waiting, I commented that it didnât feel all that different being free. I was able to get my bag, but my camera is being held as arrest evidence so I need to go to the DAâs office and get a release before I can get it back. I expect that on Tuesday, after the holiday, I will drive to NY and wait again in interminable lines both at the DAâs office and then at the Property Clerkâs Office. I witnessed people who were unable to get their stuff back. One person had initially refused to give her name so her property was checked under Jane Doe, but her release had her name aka Jane Doe. The police officers said since she couldnât show ID with the name Jane Doe on it she couldnât have her stuff. There was a lawyer with her, but I donât think she was able to get it. Another person had lost her wallet right before being arrested; in fact she had ! only been in NYC for thirty minutes before she was arrested, so she had no ID. I knew of another person whoâs ID was in her car, but her car keys were in her bag, I donât know what became of her property. It was almost midnight when we made it back to the garage where I had parked the car (fortunately in a garage and not towed, ticketed or broken into). The garage was in a hotel where many delegates were staying. It was a surreal experience walking amongst them, smelly, dirty, hungry, without having slept in two nights. We got more than a few unpleasant glances. I then drove the two hours home to Philly where we were welcomed with banners, signs, flowers and balloons from our roommates. The Truth? I have been amazed at what the news has been saying about those of us arrested. I hear that there were 1200 arrests in four hours on Tuesday, over 1900 arrests all week, the most for any political protest. I feel that many of us in jail were not protesters; there were a lot of innocent bystanders swept up in the arrest nets. There were people on their way home from work, people heading out for dinner, and people like us. At the same time there were also people who expected to be arrested, people who were staging acts of civil disobedience, performing sit-ins or refusing to move when requested. A lot of people were warned by the police that they were about to be arrested, and a lot of us were given no chance at all. I have read articles that said that no one requested medical attention. In every cell I was in someone requested medical attention. At Pier 57, people were experiencing rashes, chemical burns, asthma and other possibly chemically induced conditions, people repeatedly requested medical attention, frequently even chanting for it, and I never saw anyone at Pier 57 receive any type of medical attention. Once we were at Central Booking a few people were sent to a medic. I personally saw a person suffering from a migraine and another with a kidney infection taken to a medic. I heard of a person who had massive bruising and injuries from the police and the handcuffs taken to medics. Sarah takes medication twice a day and had missed four doses, she saw a doctor who wanted her to go to the hospital. We had been told that people who went to the hospital waited in the Emergency Room to be seen in order of severity and then came back to Central Booking to pick off waiting where t! hey had left. Sarah did not want to add 12 or so hours to her waiting time and she refused to go to the hospital. I read a few editorials that said that the protesters were violent and deserved to be locked up. While I was in New York City, I saw no violence on the part of the protesters, but instead plenty of violence and violent behavior from the police. The police have said that they were prepared for 1000 arrests each day of the convention, and they also said that they delay in processing us was because we clogged the system. Both cannot be true. Wednesday, from prison, we heard from the National Lawyers Guild (someone would always call them when we had a chance to get to a phone) that there was an order to have us released by midnight. We heard that the NYPD stalled and at an appeals court on Thursday the State Supreme Court ruled that everyone held over 24 hours be released by 5pm, and that for each person held longer the city would be fined $1000. (I personally wasnât released until 8:30pm.) Here are some articles to that effect. Guantanamo on the Hudson http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0435/ferguson3.php City May Have to Pay Protesters http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0435/ferguson5.php Some people in one of my cells at Pier 57 still had a cell phone and they called Democracy Now, this is a transcript of their talks. Most of them were arrested where I was on 16th St and most werenât even protesting. Guantanamo On the Hudson: Detained RNC Protesters Describe Prison Conditions http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/02/1454254 I believe that we were held until the convention was over. I believe that that the mass arrests were a tactic to discourage any protesting. There are people who are full-time direct action activists, but when the level of commitment is raised from one afternoon of protesting to three days of work lost, people are likely to be scared away. I know that I personally am unlikely to attend any protest that is not legally permitted and well organized. At the same time I feel that my arrest and subsequent detaining have encouraged me to become even more aware of politics, my rights and any possible influence I might have over issues that concern me. I plan to monitor non-mainstream news sources daily to stay alert and aware. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
