InaugurationProtests

I believe, but will wait for discussion, that this article should

be removed from the wikipedia. My reason is this:

When you click 'submit', you are agreeing to release the text under the GNU FDL. But this reprinting disclaimer doesn't give all the freedom that the FDL gives. (For example, you don't have the right to redistribute modified versions, and there is a discrimination against commercial usage -- both restrictions are forbidden under the open source definition.)

Therefore, while it is o.k. for the moment, since this wikipedia doesn't have any ads on it, it is not o.k. in the long run, because this wikipedia database is intended to be made available for download under an FDL license. --JimboWales

Agreed. As well, it has a journalistic-bent to it, and so needs to be rewritten into more of an encyclopedic bent. But I felt the information is important and of current interest. And since the protests were not covered by traditional media, and thus likely won't show up in mainstream encyclopedias and histories, I wanted to be sure we had *something* relatively detailed on it. -- BryceHarrington

Bush inauguration meets resistance

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106J20%201.GIF

Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20.

By Eamon Martin

Washington, DC, Jan. 20- As the pomp and circumstance

of President George W. Bush's inauguration attempted to forcibly

transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what

may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately

20,000 people gathered in the nation's capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the

national popular vote, took the oath of office as president

of the United States, pledging to "unite" the country which

the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural,

geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the

US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy

by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement,

and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the

vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to

demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a BushCheney White

House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy,

a Republican coup d'etat with a suitably incompetent figurehead

for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security

restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage

and contempt for the incoming administration were literally

overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous

marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations

between police and protesters that have since drawn concern

from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities

and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from

most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block

of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on

the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other

paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets

well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at

12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania

Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont

Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for "stealing" the

election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush

from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National

Organization for Women, told the crowd: "Let them have the tree.

We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country.

They just have the White House."

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy

and other civil rights activists were holding a "shadow" inauguration

and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of

Brooklyn, NY commented, "We were sold out," as others around

her chanted, "No justice, no peace."

"And when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court]

we were sold again," said Brightman. "The election was stolen."

At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park,

Md., put it this way: "Bush is a Supreme Court appointee. In

my eyes, and in my children's eyes, he will never be a legitimate

president."

'''Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media

blackout '''

http://www.agrnews.org/issues/106J20%2088.GIF

Black bloc activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists

made anarchist history during George W. Bush's inaugural parade

when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered

down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after,

protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective

known as the "Black Bloc" -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania

Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monument's flagpole.

Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service

appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried

to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail

time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought

back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation

from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bush's inaugural moment, the "historically

unprecedented" security measures being undertaken by the Republican

Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received

extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever,

anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to

pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags

searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs

confiscated.

"He stole the vote," said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City.

"The fact that the people's votes were absolutely stolen plus

the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like

you are in a real dictatorship."

It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade,

a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along

the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an

inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention.

However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural

parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic,

captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes

of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched,

waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel

balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush

motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst

of a giant confrontation between police and protesters.

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators

began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small

trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor

racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police

appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about

80 of this group who called themselves the "Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarian

Bloc." Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding

loads of plastic, "zip-tie" handcuffs and City Transit Authority

busses parked nearby at the ready for "criminal" mass transit.

DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said

the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved

the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared

for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been

deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US

Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell

of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival

of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter

Rights march, chanting "Let them go! Let them go!" Hopelessly

outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators

to continue their protests.

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive

march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the

reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants

grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction

site.

"What is this?" someone asked.

"It's a battering ram!" another yelled in reply.

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers,

the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill,

crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from

going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled

in front of it's path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process.

The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony

seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep

into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage

of signs proclaiming: "Supreme Coup," "Hail To The Thief," "Not

Our President" and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate

preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were

now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national

security.

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four

Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole

to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the

Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red

anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely

recognized symbol of distress.

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three

times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument,

only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times,

without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted

to "surprise arrest" demonstrators. Activists responded quickly,

however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening

by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting

them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area.

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the BushCheney

motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this

concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones

to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular

moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds

of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently

several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously

thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with

comments from fawning news pundits.

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the

object of their animosity having since passed by in the new

Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick

bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday

to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested

only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only

a handful of others.

Demonstrations nationwide

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as

an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited

to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities

such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee,

New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland

and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent

Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown

San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los

Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against

the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President.

All around the country, mock coronations of "King George II"

were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary

War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the

people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a

parade.

Chicago protesters converged on the city's Federal Building.

Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado

and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV

coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol

steps. The election "was stolen and it was stolen in Florida.

I think there should be a revolution in this country on just

this issue," said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas.

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved

freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious

delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs

up. The protest lasted from ten until two o'clock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.

Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post,

IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer

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