2 Arrested At Chicago Ferguson Solidarity Demonstration Tuesday Night

By aaroncynic in News on Aug 12, 2015 5:46PM

Two people were arrested in Chicago last night during a demonstration and march meant to show solidarity with demonstrators in Ferguson.

The march began at Chicago Police headquarters at 35th Street and Michigan Avenue. Protesters gathered in the evening to stand in solidarity with those who have been demonstrating in Ferguson for the past few days to mark the 1-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, an African-American shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson.

“With a state of emergency being declared in Ferguson, Missouri after the police shooting of Tyrone Harris, We simultaneously declare a state of emergency for all black people living in the colonized state of the USA,” said organizer Temara “Jaz” Jasmine in a press release.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Police told WGN the two arrestees were taken into custody for “impeding the flow of traffic.” About 100 people marched through neighborhoods on the South Side to the jail at 51st Street and Wentworth Avenue, where the protesters were taken. Those gathered outside the station held a die-in, chalked outlines of bodies with the names of people killed by police and sang “Which Side Are You On?” The arrestees were later released with citations.

Peeps singing "Which Side Are You" surrounded by cops at jail support in #Chicago | #Chi2Ferguson pic.twitter.com/N3oWTVDbFm

— proleterrorist (@soit_goes) August 12, 2015

“What happened in Ferguson is happening all over,” demonstrator Lacreshia Bircs told NBC5. Another vigil was also held on the Northside in Uptown, where a smaller group of demonstrators projected the words "Disarm The Police" in lights on a building.

Meanwhile in Ferguson, the Chicago Tribune reports that last night’s demonstrations were smaller and quieter, and no arrests were made. That comes in stark contrast with the previous days of protests, which saw an exchange of gunfire that lead to the shooting of 18 year-old Tyrone Harris, along with many unrelated violent arrests, including that of legal observers with the National Lawyer’s Guild, by police.

The Guild condemned the arrests. “My wrongful arrest while trying to record police abuse is further evidence that law enforcement has nothing but contempt for political resistance and those who would try to protect it,” said Executive Director Pooja Gehi, who was among those arrested Monday.

County Executive Steve Senger said the State of Emergency, which is still in effect, could be lifted as early as today. "I'm inclined not to have it last any longer than needed,” Senger told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Authorities also released 13 seconds of video footage, allegedly of Harris, carrying a gun. The footage was taken from a surveillance camera outside an insurance agency while the shots were fired, according to the International Business Times. In it, a young African-American man, who police say is Harris, can be seen brandishing what looks like a handgun.

"The video shows Harris grab a handgun out of his waistband once shots are fired during the protest in the West Florissant corridor,” the St. Louis County Police said in a statement.

Harris’ family maintained before the release of the video that he may not have had a weapon, and he was running away from the gunfire like many other people in the area.

"He was running for his ... life because someone was shooting at him," his farther, Tyrone Harris, Sr. told reporters.