Occupy Oakland: 400 arrested after violent protest

[SunsetDreams]

(Video at link MSNBC reporting with interviews and showing weapons that were confiscated)


Occupy Oakland protesters burn an American flag found inside Oakland City Hall on Saturday.

Crews cleaned up Oakland's historic City Hall on Sunday from damage inflicted overnight during violent anti-Wall Street protests that resulted in about 400 arrests, marking one of the largest mass arrests since nationwide protests began last year.

At a press conference on Sunday, Oakland police and city officials said they did not have a final tally of arrests. Earlier in the day, the city's emergency operations office put the figure at around 400. The skirmishes injured three officers and at least one demonstrator.

Police said a group of protesters burned an American flag in front of City Hall, then entered the building and destroyed a vending machine, light fixtures and a historic scale model of the edifice. The city's 911 emergency system was overwhelmed during the disturbances.

(snip)

"Officers were pelted with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices and burning flares," the Oakland Police Department said in a statement. "The Oakland Police Department deployed smoke, tear gas and beanbag projectiles in response to this activity."

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/30/10268080-occupy-oakland-400-arrested-after-violent-protest?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[LiberalEsto]

1. Notice the covered faces of the flag-burners

Were they OWS members or hired thugs doing this to make OWS look bad?
Why don't they show their faces?

[SunsetDreams]

2. The ones marching with Occupy with the Peace Signs had

covered faces as well. I don't know, I do think there is a splinter group that is trying to make Occupy look bad. That's just my opinion, as I wasn't there.

[Bonobo]

30. Looks like they bought their clothes at "Protesters R Us" nt

[Jackpine Radical]

3. This is absolutely crazy and destructive.

Whether or not the flag-burners and bottle-throwers were false-flag operatives (pardon the expression), they have done incredible harm to the Occupy movement. The Corporate Press is already committed to painting a sinister portrait of the Occupy movement. There is no point in giving them small bits of truth to incorporate into their evil brew of propaganda.

[randome]

4. If OWS were to disavow the damage, maybe that would help.

If they offered to repair the damage, that would put them in a much better relationship with the city of Oakland.

But I don't think that's what most of them want. They just want someone or something to fight.

[greytdemocrat]

8. 110% correct. n/t

[Tarheel_Dem]

16. Perfect summation.

[TBF]

20. Agree that OWS needs to come out against the flag burning at the very least -

but I disagree with your statement that "they just want someone or something to fight". Have you done any research on the Oakland PD? This force has been viewed as racist for quite awhile with some substantive examples to back up those assertions. For example - here is my journal entry on Oscar Juliuss Grant: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/TBF/23

[SunsetDreams]

7. "they have done incredible harm to the Occupy movement"

agreed. If Occupy had leadership, perhaps they could disavow this type of behavior on behalf of the group.

[Jackpine Radical]

17. Well, I disagree with that.

There is a genius, a unique power in leaderless, networked organizations, and there are many disadvantages to having a formal leadership structure in these circumstances. We've done fine from Madison to Wall Street at maintaining civility without identified leaders. There's no point in giving the 1% something to decapitate.

[TBF]

21. Agree with you JP - they can disavow the action without electing a leader to do so.

The strength of Occupy has been the leaderless, networked organization.

[SunsetDreams]

23. Either way, this type of behavior needs to be disavowed.

[Jackpine Radical]

25. YES!

(Pardon the scream.)

For very many reasons, violence cannot succeed, and symbolic flag-burning is a form of violence against the emotions of many people who were raised to revere the flag. I think a flag is a stupid thing to revere, but that doesn't change the psychological effects of flag-burning. It is free speech, but deplorable free speech, and should be immediately countered with an overwhelming blast of free speech from wiser heads.

[jwirr]

26. I agree. The pic of the broken model of the building is not going to help either. No matter who did

it that means that the msm has fuel to set the fires of propaganda going and those of us who were there in the late 70s know that it was actions like this that hurt the movement then. Non-violence is hard to maintain when the police are themselves violent so it requires a lot to keep on being non-violent but it is a must. Anything else only gives them more to convince the people that we are wrong.

[eShirl]

5. deja vu...

anyone remember a little newspaper called Pravda?

[Jackpine Radical]

18. Da.

[backscatter712]

6. Fucking corporate spin.

Who were the ones that were the most violent? Oh yeah, the cops!

[doc03]

9. That image there is the death of the occupy movement n/t

[marions ghost]

11. oh yeah

I doubt it

[doc03]

12. The right wingers will take that and run with it. I think it will

be right up there with the image of the Kent State shootings.

[marions ghost]

13. Right wingers are gonna run with anything and everything

you can't stop that. Those minds can't be changed.

[backscatter712]

15. They keep saying this shit every time....

It always turns out to be bullshit.

[Cali_Democrat]

32. Not a chance.

The occupy movement will endure much to the chagrin of many.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. How many cops were arrested for their demonstration of violence?

[Broderick]

14. I went through the pictures and watched the vid

If there were agents provocateurs causing the trouble and everyone else was peacefully demonstrating, the agents outnumbered them 5 to 1 in the pictures. That is a pretty heft payroll just to discredit the movement.

[rustydog]

19. Anarchists? Plants? couldn't be that could it.

[Jackpine Radical]

24. Who knows? I don't know.

I do know that if someone had tried that in Madison last winter, they would have been surrounded as nonviolently as possible by the crowd & either stopped or been immediately discredited by protestors holding signs like "Walker Operative" or, better, something funnier & morw to the point than I can come up with right now.

The Occupiers need to disavow the flag-burning

[raouldukelives]

22. So far I've seen more cops desecrating the Flag

During the Occupy protests. Tearing them down, stomping on them, ripping them from peoples hands. It's funny that people & the media like to make a big deal out of harming the Flag but never when they harm what the Flag stands for. If they did we wouldn't need to protest.

[jwirr]

27. And that is the way it needs to stay. We have reclaimed the flag and we are not going to throw it

away. Several years ago on DU some Veterans talked about taking our flag back and using it correctly in displays as opposed to wearing it on the lapel and forgetting it like the rw do. Burning it is not part of taking it or our country back.

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. This^

It's funny that people & the media like to make a big deal out of harming the Flag but never when they harm what the Flag stands for. If they did we wouldn't need to protest.

[upi402]

31. Destroy what the flag stands for - no problem

But destroy the flag....

[donheld]

29. You think the mainstream got it right?

[raouldukelives]

33. Great vid. Everyone should see it. nt