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Indybay Feature

Anonymous OpBART-5 Protest - "The Fitness Program" 9/12/11: photos, 1 of 2

by dave id
Anonymous' #OpBART-5 protest on September 12th was better attended than OpBART-4 on Labor Day. It was more mobile and far less people were arrested than at the "Spare the Fare" demonstration the previous Thursday inside the Powell Street station, where BART police arrested two dozen protesters and two Indybay journalists. In fact, no arrests were made during OpBART-5. This energetic edition of the weekly Anonymous protest against BART police violence and free speech violations started at Civic Center plaza and marched through the streets of San Francisco, through the unpaid areas of the Powell and Civic Center BART stations numerous times, zigzagging back and forth at a good pace for three and a half hours. SFPD, following on foot, struggled at times to keep up, eventually abandoning tagging along with the march. SFPD motorcycle officers followed demonstrators from there on out. BART police mostly stood in the two stations through which activists repeatedly passed, donning their riot helmets at the sight of approaching demonstrators every time. Jokingly, several people on social media websites referred to the demonstration as "the fitness program" for the many miles marched and all of the stairs climbed up and down throughout OpBART-5.
anonymous_opbart5_091211171519.jpg
[Pictured above: SFPD waiting for demonstrators to march. These officers didn't make it through the entire 3 1/2 hours of roaming San Francisco streets and BART stations.]



No Justice No BART and Allies Call for "Spare the Fare" Protest in Powell Street BART
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/07/18689663.php


For more information:
§"Sketchy dude who probably works for the feds"
by dave id
anonymous_opbart5_091211172227.jpg
If you ask this guy that has been photographing at all of the Anonymous demonstrations since August 15th who he is, he acts like he cannot speak English yet will hand you a business card in English that says he is Victor Polyakov who blogs at http://al-31f.livejournal.com. If you look at the blog, you can see that Victor Polyakov has been posting photos from Eastern Europe throughout the time of the Anonymous demonstrations and that there is no mention of anything in San Francisco.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/08/22/18688332.php?show_comments=1
anonymous_opbart5_091211174248.jpg
The wall behind them, on the outside of a BART police substation, is where BART police lined up arrestees before transporting them to the SF jail at 850 Bryant on September 12th: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/12/18690043.php
anonymous_opbart5_091211180657.jpg
Tailing SFPD at street level came to expect demonstrators to appear at the opposite end of stations marched through, and switching directions within stations sometimes lead to SFPD being a block away when protesters resurfaced, forcing SFPD to hussle to keep up.
§Photos continued
by dave id

Anonymous OpBART-5 Protest - "The Fitness Program": photos, 2 of 2
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/14/18690305.php

Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by D. Boyer
I agree that dude is sketchy. He has approached me several times,but never handed me a biz card. He seems to not be very creative because I have seen him repeatedly hunch over me while I am shooting. I call it stealing my shot. If you ask me I think he is Israeli, and is spying or getting hints about actions in SF/US. IMHO he is a spy. Since you mentioned him, I will now approach and deal with him with prejudice. Also he seems to miraculously escape all arrest kettles or circles with ease.
Also there are many camera people out there who are there because of the sensation. I have talked with many of them. I find that pathetic.
by Public service announcement
Dude is quite selective about the actions he attends.

He was at a rally/march in solidarity with Pelican Bay hunger strikers earlier this summer. He was at anti-police brutality rally a few weeks ago called by Idriss Stelley Foundation. And I've seen him at some actions outside of the new Fed bldg and/or 9th Circuit Ct on 7th Street, when folks convened in opposition to U.S.-sponsored torture, or in opposition to the railroading of Mumia Abu Jamal.

He'll likely provide you with his card if you ask him. But nobody is blogging about any of the above-mentioned events under the name of his proffered name, Victor Polyakov.
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