Long Beach, CA - Activists from Free Bradley Manning SoCal, as well as activists from other Occupy groups including OLA and OLB gathered to rally in solidarity with Bradley Manning's 1000th day in prison without trial in front of Armed Forces Career Center on Pine Avenue between 6th and 5th Streets on February 23 through February 24. The Rally was organized by a core member of Free Bradley Manning SoCal group, Joshua Dufour. Dufour said that there was no real planning for this rally. "We decided to handle it democratically as a group and let the group decide the shape that the rally takes…. the best way to react to this whole situation as an activist it's to put it out there and invite people…really, it was all the planning that went into this action today". An activist, Danny Manriquez, said that the goal of Free Bradley Manning SoCal is to pass information from place to place, from neighborhood to neighborhood and let people know about Bradley Manning. "I came to every Bradley Manning event that I could…information should be shared with everybody" Manriquez added.
Bradley Manning is a United States Army Intelligence Analyst who was arrested in May 2010 on suspicion of having passed classified information to WikiLeaks website. He was charged with a number of offenses including communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source and aiding the enemy. Bradley Manning had been incarcerated for almost two years without trial. According to the Global Exchange blog, Bradley Manning's trial is scheduled to start on Jun 3, 2013.
This weekend rally begun on Saturday at 1pm. About 20 activists came to show their support for Bradley Manning. Richard Spix, from Santa Ana said "He (Bradley Manning) needs a Purple Heart. He is a hero who shined light on cockroaches of our government…. Only the corrupted fear the truth". An activist from Burbank, John Hames, said that Bradley Manning released the footage to the world that U.S. government committed a murder and now he is in jail for 1000 days without trial.
The activists were handing out flyers and educating pedestrians about Bradley Manning. The Rally continued through the night and the day after. Occupy Sandy activist, Allan Eaton said that he thinks the Rally was a success. " We educated about 150 Long Beach residents on this issue and that's what's important".
 |
| Activists hold their signs and bang on the pots at the beginning of the protest |
 |
| Activist holds a sign facing Pine Avenue during Free Bradley Manning Rally |
 |
| John Hames, from Burbank stands by his sign |
 |
| Sara McGovern holds a sign during Free Bradley Manning Rally. |
 |
| Richard Spix holds a sign during Free Bradley Manning Rally. |
 |
| Activists hold their signs facing Pine Avenue. |
 |
| Santiago Emanuel, age 4, holds a sign at Free Bradley Manning Rally. |
 |
| Activists from different groups hold their signs in front of Armed Forces Career Center |
 |
| Unidentified activists have lunch |
 |
| Santiago Emanuel, age 4, bangs on a pot. |
 |
| Unidentified activists doing Yoga. |
 |
| Activists make signs for Free Bradley Manning Rally |
 |
| Activists stay though the night |
 |
| Sara McGovern draws Bradley Manning portrait |
 |
| Activist, Danny Manriquez takes a rest during Free Bradley Manning protest |
 |
| Activists hold their signs through the night |
 |
| Sara McGovern holds her unfinished portrait of Bradley Manning. |
 |
| Activists are resting |
 |
| Activists are having Donuts early on Sunday morning |
 |
| Protestes hold their signs on early Sunday morning facing 6th Street |
 |
| Activists were chalking on a sidewalk in front of Armed Forces Career Center |
 |
| Police officers from Long Beach Police Department arrive to the Armed Forces Career Center . Commercial Security called LBPD to report activists chalking on a sidewalk. Chalking on a sidewalk is illegal in California. Police officers are enforcing California Penal Code 594. |
 |
| Unidentified employee from Long Beach Cleaning Team washes the chalk from the sidewalk. |
 |
| Protesters wait for Long Beach Cleaning Team to wash the chalk from the sidewalk. |
 |
| Activists move back to their original spot after the sidewalk was washed. |
I read the penal code rather thoroughly and that - along with the Supreme Court decision that "chalk on a sidewalk is obviously not destructive" causes me to strongly disagree with the statement that "chalking in California is illegal" - I would take serious issue with that!
ReplyDelete