A certainly more troubling and perhaps more accurate account of what happened. Query: whether one agrees with the protesters or not, one has to ask what happened to our Constitution?
Look at this shocking report re: the demonstration last Thursday evening and compare it to how the news broadcasts and newspapers reported it!
Important information about the Chicago Anti- War Protests and Arrests
Subject: Fwd: forwarded message from Chicago
Everyone should read and know about this. RS
This happened to one of the participants. > >Dear all, > >I want to warn you all about what happened to hundreds of peaceful >protesters, myself included, at the rally and march on Thursday night >in downtown Chicago. Both the rally and march were entirely >peaceful. I saw not one instance of civil disobedience or aggro >behavior. Police escorted us on the March and onto Lake Shore Drive. >We were never asked to disperse or threatened with arrest. When >police prevented us from marching on Michigan Ave marchers moved on. >We were, however, surrounded by hundreds of police a few block later >and prevented from leaving. No one around me intended to or wanted >to be arrested. Everyone asked to be allowed to leave and disperse. >I have since heard this was not how the media reported it but more >than once the crowd chanted "let us go" and "we will disperse." The >police told individuals who asked that they could leave from some >other side of the crowd but in EVERY instance I witnessed this was >not the case and no one was allowed to leave, including a 17 year old >boy and his 14 year old sister. At first police rushed the crowd and >pulled out 10 people at a time. I and everyone around me was >arrested despite the fact that we were standing on the sidewalk (not >in the street) and that we asked again and again to be allowed to >leave since we had done nothing illegal. A cop grabbed me, put me in >cuffs, and told me I was being charged with mob action and that I >should be glad I was not in Iraq. I have since heard that people >were allowed to leave much later but we were told that everyone would >be arrested sooner or later. > >Close to 300 (at least) women were held in custody for hours. I was >in custody for over 20 hours. Despite the fact that we were told >that we be released as soon as we were processed, I was held in a >jail cell from midnight until 4:00 pm the next day. During this time >I was not allowed a phone call, not read my rights, and my charge was >not explained to me. We were all told numerous times that we would be >released on I-Bonds, meaning once we were processed (mug shots taken >and finger prints sent to the federal registry) we could sign >ourselves out. A friend of mine came to get me at 8:00 am and was >told I would be released by noon. By 2:00 she was told I had been >"lost" and might not be "found" or released until Monday. When she >offered $100 cash at 4:00 (despite the fact that we had been told >explicitly numerous times that we did not require bail money) I was >"found" and released. Only because a cell phone had been smuggled >into my cell block was I able to contact this friend or to hear the >news that they were suddenly and inexplicably requiring $100 bail to >release us. The police allowed no one to call friends and family to >arrange this payment. We were all told that if we got arrested again >within 24 hours of signing our bond we would be charged with a >FELONY. Waiting parents and friends were told that if we SO MUCH AS >SHOWED UP AGAIN AT ANOTHER RALLY we would be charged with a felony. >This, of course, cannot be right. But this is the mood of Ashcroft's >America. > >The average age of the arrestees as far as I could tell was between >17-25. No one I met had ever been arrested before or had had any >intention of being arrested for civil disobedience Thursday night. >At least 3 women that I met were tourists that had gotten trapped in >the crowd. This fact was explained both by the women themselves and >many of the protesters but they were treated no differently and as >far as I know held for the same amount of time as the rest of us. >While some the cops were fine, a number threatened us and many >ridiculed us. They treated us with disdain and disgust and booked us >as though we were terrorists under the new Patriot Act and not >peaceful protesters. It was a miserable and shocking experience. >This may have been the most egregious response and it may be that no >other peaceful protesters will be trapped and arrested as we were. >But I recommend if you intend to go to any future protests that you >make sure you have a number of a lawyer or the ACLU memorized. I >would also suggest that you let someone know you are going and that >if you do not call them upon your return that they should check to >see if you have been arrested. Those of us that had it worst and were >held the longest did not have anyone waiting for us and demanding our >release. > >All the best, >Amy Partridge PhD Candidate Performance Studies Northwestern University >==================================================================