Splinter March report

Roughly 2,000 people initially went on the "unpermitted" march, which left Jefferson Square at approximately 2:40pm. The march was a mixture of black bloc, pink/carnival bloc, queer bloc, and general hangers-on/observers.

The march went down Golden Gate Avenue, turned south down Van Ness, & headed towards Mission Street after turning off Market. I think it was in between 8th and 9th Street on Mission, the Police then gave everyone a verbal warning, saying the protest was unpermitted and anyone not standing on the sidewalk would be subject to arrest. This is where the first group of people sat down and linked arms, and after a tense stand off they were arrested and taken away (http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/03/1583032.php). The march then moved back to Market Street, but was confined to the sidewalk.

The crowd headed back towards Market and was slowed down by a very heavy police presence at every step. An attempt to retake the street was made but police moved in on the 'dirtbike' white bikes very quickly cutting off people arriving, and the numbers of people trying to hold the street position were insufficient. It was back onto the sidewalk again (to chants of "Whose sidewalk? Our sidewalk!").

The cops were definitely a lot more organised than February 16th. They didnt bring any horses with them this time after they bolted when frightened at the intersection of 8th and Market on the previous breakaway march. There were also a lot more of them than F16.

The march went several blocks up Market, and people ran down different side streets in surprise attempts to take the streets again, but the sheer numbers of cops meant that every attempt was thwarted. At one intersection, on Mission, and 2nd (I think? There is a cinema on the corner), after another sprint, the cops caught up with 3 or 4 masked in black at the front of the charge, and threw them to the ground quite violently and cuffed them with the plastic ties almost instantly. This was well before the majority of the run arrived at the corner, and I dont think any media or legal observers saw this incident.

After a few cat-and-mouse runs back and forth, the march was back on the sidewalk on Market Street. Police were making it very difficult to move any way at all, splitting the march up as much as possible at pedestrian crossings.

I left around 4.45pm, was knackered after all the running! Things seemed to be dying off at that stage, the lack of bodies meant it was proving difficult to do anything constructive. I didnt see the mass arrest taking place, maybe someone else can write that up.

There was no property vandalism whatsoever, and as has been pointed out already, the cops arrested more people than any previous breakaway march. Next time lets fuck the shops over good and proper.

Today's march was a bit all over the place, definitely not as cohesive or effective as F16. There was a lack of communication and unity of purpose. When the first bunch of people sat down at Mission and 9th, nobody could see what was happening until they'd been coralled onto the sidewalk and could only watch and shout as the people were hauled away. Also the attempts at bringing the march back onto the street were frustrating as the crowd was spread out through people not keeping tight, and easily split or pushed back onto the path.

There was also a journalist present in the Bloc from the SF Chronicle. He told me his name but I forget. I chatted to him at length about direct action and Black Bloc methods, and gave Rob Morse our love, asking him to come down in person again next time and we can have a discussion with him. It will be interesting to see if there's any report about it. Probably not.

Alright, time for bed, again.