Reply #7: At two of the anti-war protests in LA [View All]

[Kipepeo]

I don't know if these were technically "free-speech zones" but they sure felt like it. One was near the beginning of the illegal war...it was a large protest on the night of the Oscars (yes, the one where Moore accepted). We had a permit and had a small stage, and protesters also lined the main street so that oscar-bound limos and random passersby (all in near standstill traffic) had to see us. There was a line of cops all down both sides of the street, fencing us in. Eventually they started closing in and cornered all of the sidewalk protesters into a small area in an alley-type street....just by closing their circle they did this. We were surrounded and they kept saying that we could either leave or sit down and be arrested. And we weren't blocking any traffic or anything...this was a peaceful assembly completely on the sidewalks of one long street. Fucking scary.

A similar one happened at a protest at the CNN building here in LA, after the start of the war. The cops formed a circle around a group of protesters and said they could either leave or be arrested....same deal. And there was no illegal activity. Still doesn't make sense.