top
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Sat Mar 20 2004
M20 SF Breakaway March: Police Attack
M20 breakaway march
Reports: 1 | 2 | Video:  1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 Audio:  1 | 2
Photos:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19
Legal Updates:  1 | 2 | 3 | 3/23: Charges against 7 dropped | 3/25: 2 Felonies Charges Dropped | 4/03: All Charges Dropped

At 2PM, over 500 people gathered at Polk and Grove for a breakaway march from the mornings massive anti-war demonstration. Hundreds of police flanked the march as it left Civic Center and moved towards the financial district. As the crowd ran onto Market St., around 25 people in the center of the crowd got surrounded by the police near 5th St. before being told that if they didnt clear the street they would be "subject to being hit with police battons". Among those trapped by the police was Brian Avery, an ISM actvist who was shot in the head in Israel (4/12/2003) by the defense forces there. As the crowd chanted for the release of those who were surrounded, a few protesters taunted an officer with a stick resulting in the police charging and hitting the entire crowd on the sidewalk. While one protester managed to break free from police custody, the police slowly arrested most of those who were surrounded, putting them into police vans and a police bus. While this was going on, much of the crowd moved up a side street to get away. Even after everyone had moved onto the sidewalk, the police moved in and hit several people with battons. About an hour later as the crowd dwindled and the marchers were returning on the sidewalk to Market St, a police motorcycle was knocked over and as the police charged the crowd, several protesters and an Indybay videographer were tackled and arrested by the police.
Later Saturday night, there was a jail solidarity protest at 850 Bryant Street. Police formed a barrier around the protesters demanding the release of the estimated 80 prisoners inside. Police also continued their strategy of targetted harassment by picking protesters with masks out of the solidarity vigil in front, detaining and photographing them "under the Patriot Act," including a NLG legal observer. At least one person was arrested at the jail. One protester who was targetted and plucked out of the crowd was held on a $26,000 bond. Police then claimed he had kicked an officer with a steel-toed boot and held him on felony charges (see below). The NLG/Legal Team has documented 99 arrests total for Friday 3/19 and Saturday 3/20, but there may still be people who have not yet contacted the legal office. Everyone is out of jail. There were 3 confirmed injuries- 2 broken arms and 1 broken thumb. Two people are being charged with felonies.
Full breaking news coverage from SF March 20th Antiwar protest
2024-02-09 Catholic Anti-Choice Marchers Get an Earful from Abortion Rights Activists in San Francisco Front Page | Health, Housing & Public Services | Womyn | San Francisco | South Bay | U.S.2024-01-10 Wall of Shipping Containers Intended to Keep the Public Out of People's Park Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | East Bay | California2023-12-08 Largest Ever Pro-Palestine Marches in NorCal Demand End to US Aid for Israel's War on Gaza Front Page | Anti-War | Central Valley | San Francisco | South Bay | Peninsula | U.S. | International | Palestine | Santa Cruz Indymedia2023-10-31 Three Activists Detained at Climate Protest for Crossing Beale Air Force Base Gate Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Anti-War | Central Valley | California | U.S.2023-09-29 California Climate Justice Actions in Coordination with Massive New York City March Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Central Valley | California2023-08-19 Environmentalists Speak Out Against Airport Expansion as Climate Disasters Accelerate Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | East Bay2023-08-12 Starbucks Bus Tour Stops in San Francisco, Rallies with Allies to Support Unionization Front Page | Labor & Workers | San Francisco | Peninsula | California | U.S.2023-07-19 Halt to Fossil Fuel Funding Demanded as Wells Fargo Operations Shut Down Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | San Francisco | U.S.2023-07-13 Demonstrations Wrack France, Boiling Over After Police Murder of Youth Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | LGBTI / Queer | International | Government & Elections | Immigrant Rights2023-07-02 A Call for Pride to Return to its Roots as a Riot in Defense of LGBTQ+ Rights Health, Housing & Public Services | LGBTI / Queer | Womyn | San Francisco2023-05-31 Reactionary "Street Art" Campaign Backed by Billionaire Michael Moritz Targeted by Graffiti Artists Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | Drug War | Arts + Action | San Francisco
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$80.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network