‘They Surrounded Me, Yanked My Arms Back, Handcuffed Me’

After the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol last week that killed 5 people and injured dozens of others, many people questioned the police response. The Congressional police did not actively confront the protesters like the "Black Lives Matter" protests we saw in the summer, and

that

Was made during the turbulent period (at least 13 days in a day; the current total is

). Usually, arrests for non-violent civil disobedience are taken for granted;

Warned demonstrators "almost certainly will be arrested" and may be sentenced to imprisonment, including community service, up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $500.

In the national protests last summer, in response to the police killing of George Floyd (George Floyd),

More than 10,000 people, most of them because of curfew violations and "failure to disperse". During the pandemic, many protesters were loaded onto buses and

It took a few hours. The protesters’ narratives described the brutal behavior of the police and cannot be explained.

-Tactics

It is more common among left-wing protests than right-wing protests.

United States Capitol Police

"Groups of any size" are demonstrating in any Capitol, on the steps of the Capitol, or on any building where the Capitol is located. Nevertheless, the majority of white supremacist demonstrators on Wednesday were clearly allowed to do all of the above.

Below, five people arrested for (non-violent) political protests shared their experiences with the Capitol and police across the country, and reflected on the gap between these incidents and the allowed incidents.

- on Wednesday.

This is my experience when I protested in the Washington State Capitol for more school funding to support smaller class sizes, nurses in each school, and more counselors.

I was immediately surrounded by the police, my arms were tightened behind me, and I was arrested in handcuffs.

"I am a teacher in Seattle. For many years, our school has been seriously underfunded. A few years ago,

At that time, the state did not fulfill its obligation to fund education. We were very angry when we learned that the country was going to cut more funds from schools after the Great Depression. A group of educators came to the Capitol. First, we erected a banner from the balcony overlooking the main chamber of the state legislature with the words "Constitution-making violators need full funding for education". I was immediately surrounded and dragged out of the secret room for the operation. They did not arrest me, but we found out where the actual [budget] meeting was held, so we went in and read out part of the State Constitution. We declare that their moral and legal obligation is not only to stop education cuts, but also to increase more funds. We have some of the biggest companies, and two of the richest people who have ever walked the earth, in Seattle. Our city is just shiny gold, and at the same time, we don't have nurses in every school.

At that time, the official disagreed with my interpretation of the law. They surrounded me, pulled my arms behind my back, handcuffed me, and then led me to a nearby room. They surrounded me with officers and let me out when no one would take me away. After the matter was resolved, they sent me to prison. They accused me of misbehavior, so I had to do many hours of community service.

I am afraid that when I return to school the next day, my family will hear that the child’s teacher has been arrested and think I am a criminal. I was the only teacher arrested, and being a black teacher taught me how the country and the police work. Were those protesters black yesterday? I think we all know that heavy rain will fall on them. Yesterday’s viewing was really incredible, reminiscent of my experience-when you ask the government to abide by the law and provide support for your children, you will be considered a criminal, and when you are with a white supremacist flying the federal flag When the United States Capitol organizes an attempted coup, glorify the slavery of blacks, then you will be protected by the state. I think a lot of people learned this lesson this week. "

In 1982, I disrupted Congress to protest an anti-abortion bill. I was arrested on the spot with five other women, sentenced to jail, and went to a jury trial for 11 days. Today, it is best to hold hundreds of racist Push Trump people responsible.

"This was 1982 and Reagan had just been elected. The Republican Party formed the first alliance with evangelical Christians, and part of it was their anti-abortion agenda. There was a Congressional bill calling for a ban on abortion and most forms of birth control. In the late 1970s , There has been a campaign against the abuse of sterilization because Puerto Rican women were sterilized without consent. I am part of a radical reproductive rights movement that opposes the abuse of sterilization and supports not only abortion rights but also abortion. We are at the hearing. The petition testified, but no one who supported abortion rights was allowed to testify. So the six of us went to Washington-we had no weapons or anything like that-we called ourselves the Women's Liberation Operation Zap Brigade. This was done before the live TV broadcast . Once, someone testified that the fetus was an astronaut in the uterus spacecraft. That was when we stood on a chair and said that a woman’s life is a human life.

We were arrested. They took us to a cell and the six of us were charged with sabotaging Congress, which is a felony. We were released on bail. We had a trial. We have Judge Harriet Taylor, the feminist judge, which is very lucky. We were found guilty of sabotaging Congress, but were sentenced to probation. If we have different judges, we will be imprisoned. "

—

"In early March, I interrupted the National Institutes of Health's Congressional Budget Hearing. It was me and another woman with ME/CFS (also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). There is a serious shortage of funds, and now we see People with COVID have these symptoms, and these symptoms may last for a long time. Our goal is to tell Dr. Collins [NIH Director]

Stop ignoring this public health crisis. It was the first time I participated in civil disobedience, but I had already talked with other militants to understand the expectations of the Capitol Police-they were very serious about the protesters entering the Capitol.

I walked in and knew that whatever the officials asked me to do, I would obey it. During the hearing, as Dr. Collins started speaking, I waited to make sure that nothing related to COVID was interrupted, and then I stood at the hearing and told him not to ignore the ME/CFS crisis. I wrote a few lines, but when I stood up, the police officer was ready to wait. He said: "You are arrested. You come with me." I told him: "Okay, I want to come." Then I sat down in the wheelchair and started pushing myself away. After we left the room, he pushed my wheelchair hard and the wheelchair jammed. Then he pulled me out of the room and said, "You were arrested for refusing to arrest." I know that I may be charged with sabotaging Congress, but I am very clear not to refuse to arrest and follow everything the officer said. They hugged us, we were booked for subverting Congress, paid $50 in cash, and went home. It is amazing to see the treatment the mob received yesterday compared to the peaceful demonstrations attended by two sick women. "

"I live in Los Angeles. Last summer, I protested against police brutality at the downtown city hall. It was a peaceful day. My friends and I just distributed water bottles, snacks and personal protective equipment. When the curfew approached, the police started. Gather and tell everyone to leave. But there are so many people in the area, so it’s impossible for everyone to leave in time. So it immediately became chaotic. Suddenly, we saw people running. We got in the car, but because of the road There were a lot of people running on the road, so we could not drive. The police surrounded both sides of the road, the demonstrators were trapped in the middle, and we were in the middle.

I got out of the car and tried to help people and give them water. Then, the police started yelling and let everyone land, and then I started running towards the car. They got us all out of the car and lined us on the wall. They told us that if we followed and only answered their questions, they would let us go, but they opened our zipper, loaded us on the bus, and booked us. It took a few hours and we all got the court date. It’s not really nervous to know what’s going on-everyone’s masks have fallen off and there is no way to pull them back because our hands are all behind our backs. There is no bathroom. We have no water. We don't know where to go. They booked us somewhere in the valley. Fortunately, all our court dates have been cancelled. But I did not see any property damage. I did not see any violence. Only when the police intervened did I see confusion and panic. "

This is because I recorded legally in 2012 about

.

I was charged with "illegal entry".

Two dozen police officers were present. I was arrested within 15 minutes.

There is no doubt what happened today.

The Congressional police are complicit today.

"I tried to record a public [Congress] hearing about the breakdown,

. I have recorded many hearings before. We have repeatedly called on the chairman to join, but they did not answer our request. But when we arrived at the hearing, it was obvious that they knew we were coming-there were at least a dozen congressional policemen there, and they stopped my photographer at the door and said there was no camera in the room. Therefore, I walked in with my backpack, as if to observe. I entered the room and started to install my camera, and then five or six good police officers arrested me. I was taken out in handcuffs, Isk outside, and taken to prison. I was accused of entering the country illegally and was eventually rejected.

But yesterday you saw the police literally open the door and let the armed protesters ransack the parliament building. They let them go. I am a veteran of many arrests and many many protests. I have a few friends standing next to me, standing on a standing rock, shooting rubber bullets from behind. I am the grandson of a Holocaust survivor. Yesterday, the actual Nazis

Take the Confederate flag into the Capitol and looted it. The police allowed them to throw away the Capitol. This is a clear message. "