New Orleans, Anarchist Reclaim The Streets party ends in arrests after running battles

north america / mexico | crime prison and punishment | other libertarian press Saturday December 05, 2009 14:25 by Reclaim The Streets - Reclaim The Streets prisonsdontwork at yahoo dot com

6 Arrests for Graffiti

Six arrests were made by New Orleans police on The 10th anniversary of Seattle's WTO protests at a Reclaim The Streets event that attempted to liberate space from the police and prison system that is destroying our lives and will never protect us from the WTO's policies.

End Poverty, Smash Prisons, Take Back The City!

Six arrests were made by New Orleans police on The 10th anniversary of the WTO protests in
Seattle at a Reclaim The Streets event that attempted to liberate space from the police and prison system that is destroying our lives and failing to protect us from the WTO's policies.

Over 40 participants called for the freedom of hometown hero rappers Lil Wayne and Lil Boosie as well as every prisoner. The imprisonment of these 2 native artists shows the absurdity of the state's Prison Industrial Complex, and the participants decided to create a space in the streets where those institutions were not allowed to operate. -- The liberated space was occupied and barricades were thrown into the street to keep the police out, and a dance party to Bounce Rap and revolutionary hip hop commenced.

Unfortunately, the police didn't want to abdicate their roles as violent thugs of the rich and powerful, and attacked the party, punching one participant in the face and pulling their guns on another.

The party went mobile after this, and turned into a running battle in the narrow streets of the historic French Quarter, with big fat cops chasin’ kids all up and down the alleyways as garbage cans, barricades, cones, and other objects were thrown in the streets to block their path and open our way. The rebels eventually scattered and 6 were arrested and charged with being responsible for graffiti, though it’s not clear if they were even involved in the party; they were most likely just poor people in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The efforts of those most effected by the PIC were in evidence on this night: youth, people of color, women, queer, and transgendered people were all out in force on the streets, taking space and demanding an end to the system that targets people like us disproportionately and oppresses everyone.

ALL POWER TO THE SPREADING NOLA COMMUNES!

Reclaim The Streets From The Police!