September 27, 2002
Anti-capitalism activists, vowing to impede Washington's morning commute, began their protests today with scattered efforts to block major traffic arteries and a march through the city's downtown that resulted in minor clashes with police and some broken windows.
About 300 demonstrators who gathered at Franklin Square Park on 14th Street began a snake march through downtown Washington about 7:30 a.m. The organizers of the "Put the Squeeze on Capitalist Greed March" did not have permits, however, and large numbers of police officers monitored the situation. The march moved west down K Street and tried to turn north on Vermont but was boxed in by officers. At the intersection of Vermont and K streets, some people from an anarchist group called Black Box threw rocks they were carrying in backpacks through some windows at a Citibank building and smoke bombs were reportedly thrown at the officers, who had suited up in riot gear. Traffic in the area ground to a standstill.
Police quickly formed a pop-up line to hold back the demonstrators and journalists and arrested at least 40 activists. They will be charged with parading without a permit and some may face rioting charges because of the broken windows.
Another skirmish broke out shortly after 8 a.m. along 12th Street between H and E streets, where protesters were throwing newspaper boxes into the street. There were reports of more broken windows. Police were on the scene and appeared to have the demonstrators stopped at 12th and H streets. Police reported about 70 people were arrested.
Earlier, 25 people sat down at the intersection of 14th Street and Independence Avenue near the Agriculture Department just around daybreak. Police warned the demonstrators that they had two minutes to move but only about four complied. Police arrested 21 people and charged them with failure to obey a police officer and the incident was over within about about 30 minutes.
As part of the protest, five people had chained themselves together at the hands and then covering their hands with one-gallon buckets. Police were forced to use saws to cut them apart.
About the same time, there were reports that protesters set fire to tires on Canal Road near Arizona Avenue and along the George Washington Parkway in Virginia near the Key Bridge, hoping to disrupt traffic. Those incidents appeared to cause minimal disruption, however.
Overall, traffic coming into the city appeared to be quieter than normal today. Virginia State Police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said none of the early protests spilled into Virginia and that the morning commute was light. Troopers were stationed at each of the bridges connecting the District and Virginia and officers who would normally end their midnight shift at 6 a.m. stayed several hours later to assure that the rush hour flowed smoothly, Caldwell said.
Metro official reported that ridership was light too. By 9 a.m., 184,200 passengers boarded trains. By the same time last Friday, the ridership was 191,300. Of Metro's terminal stations, only Branch Avenue and Franconia-Springfield saw an increase in ridership, said Jim Gallagher, Metro's deputy general manager for operations.
"From the passenger's perspective, it was a normal day," Gallagher said, adding that train operations ran smoothly. No stations were particularly crowded, and Metro officials did not extend rush hour service past 9 a.m. At Union Station, a protest using bikes to slow traffic got a late start. Several dozen riders took off shortly after 8, accompanied by a large contingent of police officers, many on bikes too.
The protesters' plans for the day included slow-moving caravans on the Capital Beltway impeding this morning's commute, bicyclists clogging downtown streets and thousands of demonstrators working together to generate as much inconvenience as they can for the District.
D.C. police, who were in full force around the city this morning, had promised that if today's protests, timed for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, turned violent or disruptive, activists would be jailed. "These people that are apprehended are going to miss several protests," said Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey yesterday, "because they'll be behind bars."
Members of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence – the group loosely coordinating today's protests – said violence isn't on the agenda. But they said disrupting the "vicious cycle" of capitalism is. In addition to large demonstrations organized by the Anti-Capitalist Convergence, an unknown number of actions by smaller, independent groups are expected. Protesters and police said those actions could be the wild card that determines the extent of today's disruptions.
Anti-Capitalist Convergence members said they have met with several "affinity groups" this week to plan what intersections, Metro stops or traffic circles should be targeted during this morning's rush hour. Organizers kept those plans secret, hoping to spring a few surprises on D.C. police, who will use a network of surveillance cameras to help monitor events.
Even so, those organizing the protests said yesterday that they were not sure exactly what to expect. Coordination of today's actions was spread among group members, they said, and no one person has been privy to all the plans. "None of us knows it all," said Rae Valentine, one of several Anti-Capitalist Convergence organizers. "Our ideology is based on the fact that we're decentralized and non-hierarchical."
Regardless of whether the actions succeed in tangling transit systems, the mere possibility has prompted several transportational detours. The Maryland Transit Administration and OmniRide commuter bus systems, which serve the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs respectively, announced yesterday that they will terminate D.C.-bound routes today at suburban Metro stations. Metrobus will continue its D.C. service, but officials said some downtown routes could be altered because of impromptu street closings.
D.C. police last night began erecting a perimeter of waist-high bicycle racks around the IMF and World Bank headquarters in Foggy Bottom. Today or tomorrow, the perimeter may expand significantly, taking in the White House and larger swaths of downtown, police said. Protesters have said they hope to surround the headquarters tomorrow and trap delegates inside, but police have said they hope the expanded perimeter will thwart those plans.
Although the 1,500 D.C. police officers on duty are expected to be bolstered by about 1,700 officers from other jurisdictions, most of those outside officers were still on the way last night and probably won't be on the street until tomorrow, Ramsey said.
Metro officials, expecting to absorb a lot of commuters who normally brave the Beltway, said the system's normal rush-hour service – with more-frequent trains – could be extended if key stations are crowded this morning. Parking restrictions at suburban Metro lots will be relaxed to encourage maximum capacity. Coolers and bicycles will not be allowed on trains today, tomorrow or Sunday.
Police said as many as 20,000 activists could participate in various protests through Sunday – a number roughly equal to the turnout for the IMF and World Bank protests of April 2000. During those demonstrations, about 1,300 activists were arrested.
Throughout the week, activists have been checking into separate "welcome centers" set up by the Anti-Capitalist Convergence and the Mobilization for Global Justice, a group coordinating tomorrow's demonstrations. "Every minute that goes by, five to 10 people walk through the door," Valentine said. "There's a lot of momentum."
A couple of hundred activists staged a rally yesterday at Edward R. Murrow Park, across from the IMF and World Bank headquarters, to denounce the World Bank's energy policies.
A large force of riot-helmeted U.S. Park Police and D.C. police officers on foot and on motorcycles lined Murrow Park and the sidewalk outside the World Bank entrance on H Street NW at 18th Street.
Steady rainfall dampened protesters' signs, anti-corporate T-shirts and the demonstration's star attraction – a 15-foot-tall cardboard horse held together by old bottle caps. The so-called Trojan horse, standing on a wooden platform with wheels and decorated with corporate logos, was designed to mock the World Bank's support of oil, mining and gas projects. Protesters tried to wheel it across the street, but police blocked them. After several minutes of chanting, the protesters wheeled it back. More rain is in the forecast today, but protesters said weather would not be a deterrent.
"The bank doesn't stop drilling when it rains," said Stephen Kretzmann, 38, who helped organize yesterday's rally. "We're not going to stop protesting."
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