- Demand Release of G-20 Detainees! Drop All Charges and
End Repression NOW!
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- Sign the online petition to Federal Officials, Congressional
leaders, the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation, the Pennsylvania Legislature,
the Mayor of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Police Chief, Pittsburgh city officials,
Pittsburgh business leaders, the Allegheny County Council and local and
national media demanding an immediate release of all detainees, that all
charges be dropped, and calling for an independent investigation, at http://www.bailoutpeople.org/releaseg20arrestees.shtml
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- Repressive cop forces provoke violence, arrests in Pittsburgh
- Join the call to release all detainees, drop all charges
and for an independent investigation now!
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- The repressive cop forces of homeland security locked
down the people of Pittsburgh during the G-20 economic summit bringing
with them violence, arrests and intimidation. Bail Out the People Movement
(BOPM) demands that all 150 arrestees be accounted for and released; all
charges be dropped and a public apology be made to the people of Pittsburgh
by County Executive Dan Onorato Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, police chief Nate
Harper, and other officials responsible for the massive repressive forces
and an independent labor-community-student investigation of the repressive
actions especially directed against youth.
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- On Thurs, Sept. 24 and Fri., Sept. 25, government sweeps
by the Pittsburgh police and more than 4,000 additional cops, state troopers
and national guard, gave rise to videos and eyewitness reports starkly
reminiscent of the repression by U.S. trained military dictatorships in
Latin America i.e. youth wrestled into unmarked cars by police dressed
in military fatigue uniforms and repressive forces posing for photos with
kneeling captives.
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- Experiments with high-tech sound weaponry also reportedly
used in Honduras, gases and other "less-lethal" crowd control
became the order of the day on Sept. 25 when police surrounded and arrested
youth gathered in Schenley Plaza near the University of Pittsburgh in the
Oakland neighborhood. Arrestees reported that after the order to disperse,
all exit routes were blocked and more than 100 people were arrested. Among
them was a Pittsburgh-Post Gazette newspaper reporter.
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- On the scene, Dante Strobino from FIST (Fight Imperialism,
Stand Together) wrote: "The police began to occupy the park and forcefully
removed everyone. As students began to gather around to check it out, the
riot police got more hyped up. There were no chants, no signs, no banners,
no folks dressed in black and no provocation. The police threw several
tear gas and smoke bombs at the crowd again and pushed them further back
down commercial streets toward bars and restaurants. They also chased people
into the huge dormitory towers and attacked students as they left their
residences. Students were hanging out the windows, taking pictures in awe."
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- "Forbes St. was blocked off by hundreds of riot
cops while surrounding contingents of cops moved in on the other areas
of the campus to corral people inside the area. Police brutality had been
witnessed with folks being thrown to the ground and shot with rubber bullets,
media being pepper sprayed and gassed. Protesters and students alike are
being held in the dorm towers unable to leave in fear of arrest. Other
students cannot cross Fifth Ave. to get to their residences without being
thrown to the ground."
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- "What is most striking about being here is seeing
the incredible police repression both Thursday and Friday night in Oakland,
near U of Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University, two universities with mostly
white, mostly class-privileged students. As Larry Holmes commented during
the BOPM Tent City, at any given normal day the police usually target and
harass the Black community, but these two days not only are those under
normal occupation, but the police are targeting young white folks, too."
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- Sean O'Sullivan, senior at University of Pittsburgh,
who was not taking part in the protests earlier in the day, stated "It
was the police who started the violence and ended up finishing the violence.
It felt like a war zone...the police kept becoming more and more violent,
taking over more and more of the street. I couldn't get to my house even
until 3 a.m. on Thursday."
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- Jillian Dowis, sophomore at Ohio University from Students
for a Democratic Society who came to Pittsburgh to protest the G-20's policies,
speaking of her experience on the night of Sept. 25, said "After a
reporter got maced in face and we brought him to steps of chapel. The cops
swarmed around us and arrested guy that was injured, he could barely breath,
trying to get him away from crowd. As kids tried to run away they picked
us off one by one. My friend called her dad. Then a cop said to us, 'Shut
the f_ck up and get off the goddamn phone'. My friend was was trying to
say bye and the cop grabbed her by head and slammed her head into the ground.
They were being way forceful and too aggressive and intentionally put on
handcuffs way too tight."
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- A 24-hour continuous vigil is ongoing at the Allegheny
County Jail until all arrestees are released.
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- Sign the online petition at http://www.bailoutpeople.org/releaseg20arrestees.shtml
to send email messages to officials demanding the immediate release of
those arrested and an independent investigation. The sample text of the
appeal follows:
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- To: Pittsburgh Mayor Ravenstahl, Pittsburgh City Council,
Pittsburgh Police Chief, Allegheny County Council
- CC: PA Congressional Delegation, Congressional Leaders,
the PA Legislature, Federal Officials, Pittsburgh business leaders, members
of the Pittsburgh and national media
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- I demand that the military occupation of Pittsburgh be
disbanded immediately; all charges against the people arrested in Pittsburgh
on Sept. 24 and 25 especially the youth including those involved
in direct action confronting the G-20 summit be dropped. Everyone
detained must be accounted for and released. I support an independent worker-community-student
investigation of the homeland security occupation and repression during
the G-20 summit.
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- Sincerely,
- (your name appended here)
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