Review AN march in CDA

[Robert Hoffmann <escape@alt-escape.com>]

The March is over--at least for this year.

Numbers on all sides were reduced this year.  Nazi marchers were <20 (vs
<100 last year), while counter-demonstrators were perhaps 50-75% of the
numbers last year.  The number of police on the scene was also
significantly reduced.  They were not dressed in riot gear, and they
interacted with people on the scene in a much less hostile manner than last
year.

Richard Butler (ca. 87 yrs old) marched with his followers.  Last year he
rode in the back of a pickup truck, and spoke from a microphone.  The
change might be due to improved health, or due to the fact that his speech
last year was drowned out by spectators' boos and jeers (both causes are
speculation on my part).

Before the march, some bystanders stood at the sidelines where the Aryans
were arrayed, and alternately tried to engage the Aryans in dialog, and
jeered them.

The march on Sherman Avenue began punctually (roughly--I wasn't at the
start, so I can't say exactly).  After marching several blocks, the Aryans
were confronted with a surprise.  About 20 protesters had occupied the
street, sitting down and linking hands.  They held up a banner with a
Loyalist slogan from the Spanish Civil War -- "They Shall Not Pass."  The
march, lead by a police car, came to a halt.  Three minutes after stopping,
it was clear that the Civil Disobedience practitioners claimed victory--the
marchers reversed course, going back in the direction from which they came.

Police then surrounded the street occupiers and started prying them apart
to make arrests.  The crowd on the sidelines started grabbing the first few
people who were being arrested, playing a tug-of-war with the police.  The
goal seemed to be to pull the arrestees into the crowd, to an area where
the police might feel unsafe to venture.  Two or three people, including a
man who had crossed the police line to videotape the arrests, were arrested
and placed into a police van.  The crowd started chanting that the other
protesters in the street were not to be arrested.  The police lines were
tore down, and the crowd took a few steps onto the street.  "We won't go
until they can" was one of the chants.  A few officers in riot gear moved
in.  The seated protesters, arms linked, then stood up and, to my surprise,
the police allowed them to rejoin the crowd.  (It is my presumption that
the police photographed the group, and will try to make arrests later).  I
heard from a bystander that a Nazi sympathizer was arrested for assulting a
counter-demonstrator.  Total arrests were probably no more than 5 (vs
around 20 last year).

Anti-AN organizers then assumed that the Aryans were being escorted to a
parking lot near the park.  The crowd was urged to run in that direction to
confront the neo-Nazis.  By the time they made it, the Aryans were under
motorized escort out of the city.

An anti-fascist rally soon ensued in the park.  Numerous speakers, from
various walks of life, addressed the crowd of 100-200.  A free lunch was
promised to all, courtesy of a group called "Seeds of Peace."  Numbers
started to dwindle after an hour.  A few police moved in and ticketed
demonstrators who had dogs in the park.  By the time lunch came, only a
group of 40 claimed the free meal.

That's the way I saw it, more or less.

Peace to all.


Bob Hoffmann                         229 East C St., Suite B
Alt-Escape Adventures                Moscow, ID  83843  USA
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