No Justice No BART called for an action to be held on Thursday, September 8th, at the Powell Street Station in San Francisco. The plan for the action was developed by a group who come from different communities and organizing initiatives, and was not just a "No Justice No BART" production. The announced intention was to “protest” outside of the fare gates, inside the Powell BART station. The strategy was made public and the action announced well ahead of time, to preempt some of the media furor around “inconvenienced” passengers and to create a “Catch-22” for BART. Since BART has been very clear in insisting that demonstrators should “protest outside the fare gates," they would have a choice. If enough people were mobilized, in order to keep riders moving into and out of the station, BART would have to open the emergency exits and let folks ride for free, just as they do for all sorts of big sporting events, antiwar protests, and even past No Justice No BART protests. Organizers viewed the action as a tactical assay to see if they could protest in a way that inconveniences BART administrators but not BART passengers.

A press conference to announce the action was held on September 5th.
Video | Feminists Against Cops' statement | Announcement

On September 8th, protesters gathered at Powell Street station, chanting and holding signs. No fare gates were ever blocked. Within a half hour, BART riot police kettled dozens of protesters and reporters. BART police handcuffed numerous journalists, requesting that SFPD confiscate their SFPD police press passes. Two Indybay journalists were arrested, along with over 22 protesters, transported to SF County jail, and charged with violating Penal Code 369i, which deals with interfering with train operations. Other demonstrators who have spoken out against BART police violence since August have also been charged with 369i. BART closed the Powell station to the public for two hours.
Audio 1 | 2 | Photos 1 | 2 | 3 | Glen Park BART attacked: We didn't do it for the lulz. | Guidelines for the "Spare the Fare" Action | Event Announcement

See Also: BART's Media Manipulation Strategy | BART’S Unbalanced Views of Safety and Speech | Union Buster & Crooked BART Director Fang From San Francisco Voted For Contractor | BART Celebrates Corporate Casual Day | The strictly financial arguments against the BART Police | KPFA Morning Mix for September 7th with Krystof of NJNB and Dave Id of Indybay | BART's Police Auditor & Citizen Review Board: Uninspiring or Simply Appalling on Mobile Shutdown?

Previous Related Indybay Features: Civil Libertarians Object and Anonymous Retaliates Against BART for Censorship | Justice for Charles Hill BART Action Shuts Three Stations in San Francisco | Coverage of the Justice for Oscar Grant Movement