When: Tuesday, August 28 7pm

Where: Occupy The Stage 2735 C Toulouse Street, New Orleans, LA

Activists from Less Wall More Street will be visiting New Orleans August 28- 30.

Occupy The Stage invites the 99% to join activists Jen Waller and Tom Hintze for brainstorming and training as part of “Less Wall, More Street: From Mass Arrests of OWS to Mass Incarceration” – a national campaign to raise awareness and build solidarity around issues of state targeting and social control.

This training will address the scope of the growing problem of political repression directed at the 99 percent. Jen Waller and Tom Hintze’s brainstorming and training session is part of “Less Wall, More Street: From Mass Arrests of OWS to Mass Incarceration” – a national campaign to raise awareness and build solidarity around issues of state targeting and social control. These two OWS activists have been driving across the country doing legal solidarity trainings and working to raise awareness and build solidarity around issues of state targeting and social control.  Please check out their website Less Wall More Street to learn more about how they are Building Solidarity to Fight Repression from Coast to Coast.

“Less Wall, More Street” seeks to build alliances between new activists who are just recently experiencing repression, more experienced activists who have long been subject to it and members of targeted and oppressed communities – to share experiences, build understanding and work in solidarity together.

After the arrest of more than 7,000 members of Occupy Movement engaging in peaceful acts of dissent, many of which are supposedly protected by the law of the land, state sanctioned repression remains a reality of life for the 99% in the United States.

Jen and Tom will also point out things that 99 percenters can to more effectively resist repression here. That political repression is a real and serious problem for 99 percenters in New Orleans is clear enough. Under the general direction of the local Homeland Security leadership, New Orleans police have arrested scores of 99 percenters for engaging in peaceful dissent in recent years. Targets of these arrests include members of the local public housing movement, Krewe of Eris revelers, anti austerity protesters at UNO, supporters of the Avery Alexander Occupy Encampment, and an organizer of Occupy the Stage. The time is long overdue for 99 percenters to give the problem of political repression in the US that it deserves.

Come to this free and timely discussion concerning a grim political reality in Barrack Obama’s America. This event is free and open to all.

Note: This training will occur during the regularly scheduled GA. The G.A. will meet after the training.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CALL MIKE AT 504-587-0080 or RSVP to this  Facebook Event.

On July 25 in New Orleans, we Chalkupied the Amphitheater near Jackson Square with messages to President Obama, whose  $250 Victory Reception  was nearby.  

We had to wait for the torrential downpour to stop before chalking, but we learned that chalk looks brighter when the pavers are wet.

The French Market Security and Manager told Occupy NOLA Chalk is "graffiti" and a felony, threatened to have everyone arrested if they didn't clean up the Chalkupy, and then had their employees clean up the Chalkupy.

Here is the video the livestreamer took of security telling Occupy The Stage chalk is graffiti. 
http://bambuser.com/v/2854777

Thank you to everyone who came out in the rain and supported this action!

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 26,  2012

Occupy The Stage founder, Justin Warren was held at Orleans Parish Prison from June 20 - June 26 and transferred to Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a warrant he didn't know existed. His bond in Eastern Baton Rouge for charges of disturbing the peace and resisting arrest totaled 1,000.

Justin Warren has a voice that can carry and be heard over the din of city streets. His key voice at assemblies and protests in the occupy community has demonstrated his dedication as an advocate of freedom of speech. The charges he is facing are for allegedly disturbing the peace on the steps of the capitol building in Baton Rouge. On the 12th of March, he was in Baton Rouge with Occupy The Stage, Occupy NOLA and Occupy Baton Rouge for the opening of the 2012 session of the Louisiana Legislature that included a protest against budget cuts in education.

He was making a speech when an officer approached him and attempted to silence him. He continued exercising his First Amendment rights and was then approached by several officers who attempted to grab him from behind.
However, he slipped out of his jacket and left the steps of the State Capitol.

After he departed, Officer Holman (badge # 6071) said on camera that Justin was no longer disturbing the peace and would not be arrested. (see min 1:40 here: http://youtu.be/86OSs6YmM8s)

When questioned as to why Louisiana State Police were interfering with Justin's First Amendment rights, Officer Holman replied that he was speaking without a permit. Apparently, The Tea Party had scheduled a separate event in
the same area, and they were not approached by the police because they had obtained said permit. The New Orleans protesters did not have a permit, nor did they need one according to The Bill of Rights. Occupy movements across the country continue to battle relentless attacks on free speech and assembly, which are assured to all citizens by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. The warrant and the ensuing transfer to Baton Rouge are obviously a ridiculous waste of taxpayers' money. No citizen should need a permit to exercise freedom of speech in the State of
Louisiana. Public spaces, including the steps of the capitol building, are protest points where free speech has been exercised for decades.

Justin Warren was released after spending 6 days in Orleans Parish Prison and 1 day in Eastern Baton Rouge Parish Prison. He needs to be compensated for his loss of income while being held for no justifiable reason.

In Solidarity,

Occupy NOLA

This information was forwarded to Occupy The Stage from Occupy NOLA's 99% Direct Action Working Group.

Justin Warren, founding member of Occupy the Stage, sits in Orleans Parish Prison because authorities in Baton Rouge want him sent there to stand trial for the “crime” of speaking without a permit on the steps of the State Capitol building. The charges against Justin arise from his March 12th speech on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol building denouncing then proposed cuts to the state’s education budget.  Interestingly enough, the NOPD, not Baton Rouge police, arrested Justin early Wednesday morning, June 20th in New Orleans.  At the time of his arrest Justin was playing a lead role in helping organize the New Orleans stop of the national Occupy the Caravan.

At this time Occupy NOLA is urging all supporters of free speech and the right to dissent  to contact Sheriff Marlin Gusman to urge that the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office  not collaborate with any attempt to extradite Justin to Baton Rouge.  Remember Sheriff Gusman is an elected official who is susceptible to public pressure. What’s more is that the  Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office should not be in the business of  aiding attacks on free speech.

 

How to contact Sheriff Gusman:

The phone number of the East Bank Sheriff’s Office is 504-822-8000 EXT 6411. (The wrong one was included in email from DAWG and was tweeted and we REALLY apologize).

But there is no answer on Sunday. You can submit a comment on the Contact Us section of the website of  the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office provides for the sending of  emails to the Sheriff.  The address for the home page of this website is www.opcso.org

 

Friends in another Occupy worked very hard on this.


Attention Watch Commander:

We encourage any officer who does not wish to be included in any legal consequences and or subpoenas that result from the action to which you have been deployed to stand down and retreat NOW.

We, The People of this assembly hereby address the agencies and officers deployed to remove our assemblage from this public space with a declaration of intent to prosecute excessive use of force and unethical deployment of police in the following statement to their command: 

The deployment of police intimidation, riot police and use of force-based practices for the dispersion or arrest of this assemblage of freely associated persons for the purposes of expression of grievances for redress is unlawful in the following manners:

Under Title 28 United States Code Section 1343(a)(3) and USC Title 42 Section 1983; Including such rights as described in the first, fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution and or any relevant rights as described under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as ratified by the United States of America and her allies. 

1. It is unlawful for a police officer or agency to proceed with escalation of force against passive protesters offering no resistance, no threat to officer safety, no threat to civilians or any other justification for any use of force beyond the simplest arrest procedures.

2. It is unlawful for police agencies or personnel to proceed with such arrest protocols as to prevent members of this assemblage from leaving the area of their own volition to avoid arrest.

3. It is unlawful for police officers or agencies to proceed in such a manner as to force members of this assemblage into a public byway or into any other inherently unlawful place of assembly in order to justify arrest.

4. It is unlawful for any police officer or agency through the use of intimidation, protocols, procedures or escalation of force to endanger, injure, prevent access to emergency medical services, fire and rescue services or otherwise risk the life, limb, property or safety of any member of this assemblage or any peaceful bystander.

5. It is unlawful for any police officer or agency to force the inclusion of any member of this assemblage,  member of the press, peaceful bystander or other person not choosing to remain after the declaration of intent to arrest through the use of any previously mentioned tactic, protocol or technique.

6.      a. Escalation of force is defined as the clear and present need to overpower an uncooperative, combative or otherwise dangerous suspect through the minimum use of force necessary to safely detain, arrest or subdue. 

b. Without the presence of felony assault, assault with intent to kill, assault with a deadly weapon, endangerment of civilians, attempt to flee in a manner which creates any previously mentioned condition or a clear physical superiority on the part of the suspect it is unlawful to use pepper spray, batons, Tasers, physical assault of any kind and or any other "less than lethal" or lethal method which may cause physical harm to the suspect.

7.      a. Any unlawful escalation of force described in this statement will be considered a violation of human rights on the part of the officers and or agencies responsible for the acts.

b. Any such actions under color of law resulting in injury, harm or death will be considered felony assault, attempted murder, manslaughter or other applicable felonious charge and are to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

c. The actions, protocols and the procedures deemed directly related under Title 28 United States Code Section 1343(a)(3), Title 42 Section 1983, Including such rights as described in the first, fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution and or any relevant rights as described under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as ratified by the United States of America and her allies or any other applicable State or local statute. 

8. Any violations of the aforestated or any other human rights or guarantees under any law on the part of this agency or it's affiliates will be recorded, publicized and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Unlawful use of force for the purposes of dispersing, quelling and silencing of The People will no longer be tolerated or go unpunished.

9. You may proceed with your arrests of such members of this assemblage as choose to remain to be arrested in a lawfully decreed manner under the direction and supervision of such judiciary and or representatives as can prove beyond shadow of doubt that we are an illegal assembly.

In Peaceful Solidarity, 

The People assembled under the auspice of Occupy.