On Saturday, a few pro-lifers brought their signs from their usual spot in front of the White House into Lafayette Square where they were booed by those who had come for the immigration rally. One man with Pro-Life printed on his bullhorn walked around in the back of the stage trying to outshout the official speakers. The cops finally "walked" him back to Pennsylvania Plaza. There were no counter-protestors on Thursday.
Photo ©2018 Jo Freeman, "We Care"
On Thursday women marched, singing and chanting to the Capitol. There was a front line with several banners. Red-vested monitors guided the line and brought up the rear. On Saturday, people just started strolling down 15th St. to Pennsylvania Ave. as the rally ended. There was no front line. There were no banners. Some people carried signs but they didn’t march in groups. Occasionally someone would start the first line of a chant but there was no follow-through. It’s not clear that there was an official march as most people at the rally did not choose to walk in the heat and humidity.
Both groups shouted 'SHAME' as they passed the Trump Hotel at 12th St. Out front, perennial protestor David Barrows, dressed in a Trump mask, wore a sign that said "Heart of ICE." "Abolish ICE" (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was a popular theme on both days. When Thursday’s marchers reached the Justice Dept. they walked around it and held a rally featuring Texas 18th district's
Cong. Sheila Jackson Lee (D TX). Saturday’s strollers just walked right past.
On Thursday, hundreds of women waited patiently to go through the metal detector at the entrances to the Senate Office Buildings before gathering in the large atrium of the Hart Building. They were told that no signs or banners were allowed inside, but quite a few escaped the bag searches. Banners were soon dangling from the upper walls as those who did not intend to be arrested collected at balconies on the upper floors.
In DC, CD is orchestrated. Police and protest leaders agree in advance what will happen and when. The several hundred women in the atrium were given time to sing and chant and display their forbidden signs before the US Capitol Police walked in to begin the arrests. When their leaders tinkled a bell, the women sat down and unwrapped foil "space blankets" that they had been given at Freedom Plaza. These were used to wrap children in by the border patrol so were used to symbolize separation of families.
The cops walked up to each woman and asked for ID. As per earlier instructions, each woman provided one. The cops took off the foil wraps and tossed them aside, though a few women kept theirs. Each woman was escorted to a wall where she waited until about two dozen had accumulated. Women raised their hands as cops escorted them out of the atrium.
After about ten percent of the women had been arrested, several Democratic Members of Congress came to greet the women. These included Sen. Ed Markey (D. MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D. NY) and Tammy Duckworth (D. IL). Sen. Gillibrand sat down and linked arms with the protestors. Sen. Duckworth rolled in with her new daughter in her lap. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D.WA) sat down and was arrested with the other women. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D. MA) waved to them from an upper floor.
Groups of arrestees were escorted to a nearby park which substituted for a holding cell. When each group’s turn came they lined up in front of tables where police IDed them and wrote out what looked like a traffic ticket but wasn’t. It identified the event as a "Mass Arrest" and charged each one with "Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding." The accused could choose to go to court and challenge the arrest but the goal of a well-planned mass arrest is to avoid tying up resources.
Women had 15 days to pay the District $50, though it is actually bail, not a fine. It had to be done in person, with cash. This is called post and forfeit. After release women walked to Union Station, where shuttle buses carried them back to Freedom Plaza to claim their possessions and eat pizza.
Saturday’s strollers weren’t so lucky. After passing the Dept. of Justice they continued down Pennsylvania Ave., turning on 4th St. to the Mall. There they were directed to walk on the gravel paths to the Capitol where a tent was set up for the forthcoming Fourth of July concert. At the base of Capitol Hill, they were directed around front to the Supreme Court. Those who made it that far found nothing relevant to the family/immigrant demonstration. There were three tables occupied by objectors to the death penalty. Protestors dispersed and disappeared, having walked three miles in 95-degree heat and humidity for nothing.
©2018 Jo Freeman for SeniorWomen.com
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