Young Activist Arrested at our Peace Cornering in Palm Harbor on Oct. 22

First Person Account

The protest on Saturday, October 22,  at Curlew Road and U.S. 19,  started off like any other, we received the usual harassment from people. The middle finger was raised often, scowling faces often called us terrorists, and the occasional “Fuck Off!” was heard. We are used to this kind of treatment. What we are not used to, however, is our right to say what we want being taken away. The St. Petersburg Police Department tried to silence our protests in the past, and they failed. On Saturday, the Pinellas County Sheriffs Department tried to shut us down.

I was holding a sign that carried a simple declarative statement: FUCK BUSH. I know it’s an over simplification of the message I want to spread, but I feel that using the same language towards Bush’s supporters that they use with us might help them understand what we have to say.

 
About half way through the protest, I was approached by two officers of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Department who looked like they wanted trouble. The first words out of Officer Atkins mouth were “You will put that sign down where I cannot see it or you will be arrested”. I asked if there was an ordinance saying that I had to, and he told me I was breaching the peace. I didn't want to be arrested again for protesting, so I immediately dropped it faced down on the ground. He then demanded to see my ID, I asked him if I had to, and he said that I was going to be under arrest.

Despite the claims made in the St. Petersburg Times article that ran the next day, I never stepped into the street, forced traffic to move around me, nor did I ever use any profanity with the Sheriffs. This is a deliberate lie made by the Sheriffs department, and a failure on behalf of the St. Petersburg Times for not attempting to check these claims. There are video and audio tapes proving this.

Even though I obeyed when the Sheriff told me to put my sign away, I was still arrested. No warning, just an arrest. I was sent to the Juvenile Assessment Center, photographed, finger printed, and released without bail. I never got a copy of the arrest report, or any notice to appear, so right now I’m waiting to hear what happens next.

For more information, contact Brendan, brendan@stpeteforpeace.org

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