October 26, 2012

Bloomington, IN

The Bloomington-area Occupy group plans to "celebrate our collective struggle" this evening at sunset in People's Park.

Dubbed as an "Appreciation for 'Dangerous Individuals,'" the group's literature states that they gather in protest of police brutality. 

In January, Bloomington police arrested three individuals celebrating the New Year and protesting with local Occupiers. Bloomington Alternative's Steven Higgs relayed scenes of the first arrest from Bloomington Anarchist dot Org:

"The crowd dropped back to about 50 as 'last call' summoned the drinkers back inside, the account said. 'Somewhere in the mix a bottle was broken on the sidewalk,' after which an officer jumped out of his car and tackled a protester, 'punching him in the head as he lay helplessly below the much larger cop.'"

Note: Though raw video--please be aware that this video contains violence and strong language--of the event does show police struggling with a young man, it does not clearly corroborate Bloomington Anarchist dot Org's account.

Occupy Bloomington also claims "police nightly hound, hunt, and beat the homeless who find refuge and social space there, as part of the quest to eliminate all ways of life that exist outside the regime of work-consumption-death," and that brutality has spilled over from the Occupy movement "against anyone who attempts to take space for public discussion, encounter, and resistance."

Stay posted for more on this evening's events.