by Chuck0
This story will be updated throughout the day
September 27 | 3:00 pm EDT
The residents of Washington, DC were treated to a small version of the general strikes which shut down Argentina earlier this year. Thousands of anti-capitalists and concerned citizens converged on Washington, DC this morning in a successful effort to shut down the capital of Empire (the United States).
Protesters used a wide variety of tactics to shut down intersections and streets, ranging from a Critical Mass bike ride, to flaming tires thrown onto George Washington parkway, to nonviolent blockades of intersections. There are reports that the snake march this morning prompted several folks to destroy the windows of Citibank, an international capitalist bank complicit in profiting from IMF policies.
The streets of Washington, DC were deserted at 8 am, with the streets looking like they do on a Saturdya morning. Traffic on the Metro was light, despite urging from the authorities for people to take public transpoartation. Most of the downtown workers simply stayed home. I overheard one parking lot attendent say to a co-worker that he was glad that "everybody stayed home this morning."
The weather was favorable to the protesters, being cool, foggy and no rain. This break in the rain came in the middle of several days of rain. The fog prevented police helicopters from tracking activist groups.
Currently, the legal collective and the news media are reporting over 600 arrests today. Police Chief Charles Ramsey was reported to have said that he hoped to arrest 1000 people by noon and was planning to detain everybody until Monday.
Most of the arrests that this reporter observed this morning were simply illegal--it was clear that at a certain point, the police simply decided to clear the streets.
I saw around 70 people get arrested at 12th and H Street, NW. The police overdid it and shut down 12th street, a major trafifc artery, for 30 minutes as the last wave of commuters trickled in.
About a half hour later, several of us doing media work got reports that people had been surrounded at 'Pershing Park", which is the west end of Freedom Plaze (12th and Pennsylvania). The police surrounded a large group of people in the park, including people who were drumming and some folks who had been doing Critical Mass. The police closed in and eventually arrested everybody. I counted 9 buses full of people, around 350 people in all.
The police did use some violence against the people in the park, especially against two guys who resisted arrest and were thrown into a police van (I'll post the AP photo of this arrest).
The folks who were arrested in the park were supported by a vocal group of activists across the street.
There were reports that many people in the snake march got arrested and 42 people were arrested from the Pagan Bloc.
Jail solidarity is being organized tonight and details will be discussed at the ACC Convergence Center at 6 pm.
All in all, I'd say that the day was a success, thanks to creative thinking by those who participated and the fact that everybody was well prepared. The police will say that they kept the streets free, but the fact is that anti-capitalists successfully shut down Washington, DC today.
That's the least that we can do for the Argentinians and billions of others affected by the World Bank and IMF.
-- Chuck0
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