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As you may know, political violence in the US is an almost solely leftist affair. It's something I'm particularly sensitive to. Antiwar demonstrators shattered the windows of the local military recruiting office three or four years ago. Nobody was caught. 
But the IMF protestors tried that **** in my neighborhood today. Breaking windows, spray painting cars along the street. This time, they were caught dead to rights.
Rock on Timexwatch and the MPD. Throw the book at 'em.
But the IMF protestors tried that **** in my neighborhood today. Breaking windows, spray painting cars along the street. This time, they were caught dead to rights.
Rock on Timexwatch and the MPD. Throw the book at 'em.
Vandalism Arrests Amid IMF and World Bank Meetings
Protesters March, Clash With Police; Larger Rally Planned for Sunday
By Michael Alison Chandler, Aaron C. Davis And Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, April 25, 2009 5:33 PM
Six people were arrested early this morning for smashing the windows of banks near Logan Circle, and a seventh was arrested a few hours later when nearly 200 protesters clashed with police near the site of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings in Washington, D.C. police said.
A two-hour march ended near the IMF headquarters, where police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. One protester was taken to a hospital with a splint on his leg. Dozens of others, and one police officer, were treated at the scene for burning skin and eyes. A 22-year-old demonstrator was arrested for kicking a police officer who had fallen from his bicycle, police said.
Police said they think the vandalism at the banks -- a PNC branch and a Wachovia branch -- was associated with the protests later in the day, though several demonstrators denied involvement. Some of the six suspects were from out of town, police said.
"We believe that they are linked," said Cmdr. James Crane, head of the department's Special Operations Division. "It's a logical conclusion."
Security cameras at the banks and at an adjoining building captured images of about 15 people dressed in black racing down the sidewalk in the 1400 block of P Street NW around 5:20 a.m., according to residents who saw some of the screenshots.
The group threw bricks through the windows in rapid succession. A few splashed red paint on the outside of the bank, spilling it on the sidewalk. They painted the initials IMF and IB on the walls, each in a circle with a slash through it.
Robert Scanlan, who lives above the PNC branch, peered out his bedroom window and saw a mob of about 15 people dressed in black, sprinting along the sidewalk below. When he left for work later, he realized the group had smashed every panel of the bank's 100-foot-long lass facade.
"It was just horrible," Scanlan said. "I can understand they may have their beliefs about things, but this is way beyond... it won't get them anywhere."
An off-duty D.C. police officer working security at a nearby drug store arrested two of the suspects. Other officers arrested another four as they fled the area.
Scanlan said detectives told him those arrested were mostly teens or in their 20s. Some were still wearing some black clothing, and had red paint on their shoes. One teenage girl had red paint still on her nose, Scanlan said.
Residents said they were told by police that the suspects had come from Baltimore and had used hammers and bricks to vandalize the banks.
They were charged with felony counts of destruction of property and rioting, a charge that police said they brought because the group was larger than five people.
There was no similar damage reported anywhere else in the District overnight, police said.
Although police and bank officials did not immediately provide a damage estimate, police said the scale of the vandalism was highly unusual in the context of political demonstrations in the city.
Capt. Jeffrey Herold of the Special Operations Division compared it to the rampage through Adams Morgan by self-described anarchists after George W. Bush's second inauguration. In that 2005 episode, some 80 people were arrested after a demonstration left windows smashed at a police substation and two bank branches in Adams Morgan.
The D.C.-based group Global Justice Action sponsored peaceful demonstrations Friday with about 75 people participating in a "speak out" at Edward R. Murrow park. Speakers accused the IMF, the private organization that oversees global finance, of contributing to the worldwide economic downturn and creating policies that are harmful to people in impoverished countries.
The weekend of protests included a scheduled "confrontational street protest" as well as a larger rally tomorrow.
Samantha Miller, a Global Justice organizer, said her group was not responsible for the vandalism at the banks. "We have no clue" who did it, she said. "It wasn't us."
Organizers said the protests were planned to coincide with the IMF and World Bank meetings and as a reaction to the G-20 economic leaders' decision this month to earmark $1.1 trillion for a combined IMF-World Bank rescue fund. Some participants also were rallying against insufficient aid to Africa and the closing of the Franklin homeless shelter in Northwest Washington.
Near Logan Circle, the banks are cordoned off with police tape. More than a dozen windows were smashed; glass was scattered on the sidewalk. By 9 a.m., people were walking their dogs past cafes and the Whole Foods Market, and puzzling over the violence.
"There is no connection between the local banks and the IMF," said Jeff Walpole, who was having breakfast at an outdoor table at the restaurant the Commissary. "But these are angry people who don't understand that."
At McPherson Square, at least two separate groups of marchers converged around 9 a.m. They carried signs that read "Capitalism -- Do Not Resuscitate" and shouted "Feed the Poor! Eat the Rich!"
The group snaked past the IMF building on Pennsylvania Avenue and was stopped by police at about 9:45 a.m. near the corner of Pennsylvania and 20th streets NW.
Herold said police ordered protesters to move to the sidewalk. They resisted. Some pounded their hands on the hood of a police car. The police formed a line and began pushing the group back with batons.
The demonstrators did not have permits to march in the street.
In the tussle, some protesters fell to the ground. An officer from a federal agency used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Police said at least one protester also used pepper spray on police.
Protesters March, Clash With Police; Larger Rally Planned for Sunday
By Michael Alison Chandler, Aaron C. Davis And Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, April 25, 2009 5:33 PM
Six people were arrested early this morning for smashing the windows of banks near Logan Circle, and a seventh was arrested a few hours later when nearly 200 protesters clashed with police near the site of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings in Washington, D.C. police said.
A two-hour march ended near the IMF headquarters, where police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. One protester was taken to a hospital with a splint on his leg. Dozens of others, and one police officer, were treated at the scene for burning skin and eyes. A 22-year-old demonstrator was arrested for kicking a police officer who had fallen from his bicycle, police said.
Police said they think the vandalism at the banks -- a PNC branch and a Wachovia branch -- was associated with the protests later in the day, though several demonstrators denied involvement. Some of the six suspects were from out of town, police said.
"We believe that they are linked," said Cmdr. James Crane, head of the department's Special Operations Division. "It's a logical conclusion."
Security cameras at the banks and at an adjoining building captured images of about 15 people dressed in black racing down the sidewalk in the 1400 block of P Street NW around 5:20 a.m., according to residents who saw some of the screenshots.
The group threw bricks through the windows in rapid succession. A few splashed red paint on the outside of the bank, spilling it on the sidewalk. They painted the initials IMF and IB on the walls, each in a circle with a slash through it.
Robert Scanlan, who lives above the PNC branch, peered out his bedroom window and saw a mob of about 15 people dressed in black, sprinting along the sidewalk below. When he left for work later, he realized the group had smashed every panel of the bank's 100-foot-long lass facade.
"It was just horrible," Scanlan said. "I can understand they may have their beliefs about things, but this is way beyond... it won't get them anywhere."
An off-duty D.C. police officer working security at a nearby drug store arrested two of the suspects. Other officers arrested another four as they fled the area.
Scanlan said detectives told him those arrested were mostly teens or in their 20s. Some were still wearing some black clothing, and had red paint on their shoes. One teenage girl had red paint still on her nose, Scanlan said.
Residents said they were told by police that the suspects had come from Baltimore and had used hammers and bricks to vandalize the banks.
They were charged with felony counts of destruction of property and rioting, a charge that police said they brought because the group was larger than five people.
There was no similar damage reported anywhere else in the District overnight, police said.
Although police and bank officials did not immediately provide a damage estimate, police said the scale of the vandalism was highly unusual in the context of political demonstrations in the city.
Capt. Jeffrey Herold of the Special Operations Division compared it to the rampage through Adams Morgan by self-described anarchists after George W. Bush's second inauguration. In that 2005 episode, some 80 people were arrested after a demonstration left windows smashed at a police substation and two bank branches in Adams Morgan.
The D.C.-based group Global Justice Action sponsored peaceful demonstrations Friday with about 75 people participating in a "speak out" at Edward R. Murrow park. Speakers accused the IMF, the private organization that oversees global finance, of contributing to the worldwide economic downturn and creating policies that are harmful to people in impoverished countries.
The weekend of protests included a scheduled "confrontational street protest" as well as a larger rally tomorrow.
Samantha Miller, a Global Justice organizer, said her group was not responsible for the vandalism at the banks. "We have no clue" who did it, she said. "It wasn't us."
Organizers said the protests were planned to coincide with the IMF and World Bank meetings and as a reaction to the G-20 economic leaders' decision this month to earmark $1.1 trillion for a combined IMF-World Bank rescue fund. Some participants also were rallying against insufficient aid to Africa and the closing of the Franklin homeless shelter in Northwest Washington.
Near Logan Circle, the banks are cordoned off with police tape. More than a dozen windows were smashed; glass was scattered on the sidewalk. By 9 a.m., people were walking their dogs past cafes and the Whole Foods Market, and puzzling over the violence.
"There is no connection between the local banks and the IMF," said Jeff Walpole, who was having breakfast at an outdoor table at the restaurant the Commissary. "But these are angry people who don't understand that."
At McPherson Square, at least two separate groups of marchers converged around 9 a.m. They carried signs that read "Capitalism -- Do Not Resuscitate" and shouted "Feed the Poor! Eat the Rich!"
The group snaked past the IMF building on Pennsylvania Avenue and was stopped by police at about 9:45 a.m. near the corner of Pennsylvania and 20th streets NW.
Herold said police ordered protesters to move to the sidewalk. They resisted. Some pounded their hands on the hood of a police car. The police formed a line and began pushing the group back with batons.
The demonstrators did not have permits to march in the street.
In the tussle, some protesters fell to the ground. An officer from a federal agency used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. Police said at least one protester also used pepper spray on police.
Unless they can tell who incited the riot, it's a misdemeanor.
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