Lady Liberty stood proud for her country yesterday as she was arrested in Washington, D.C.
An image of the woman, one of 3,600 people pledged to be at the #DemocracySpring peaceful protest against corporate money in politics, became a Facebook meme overnight. The hashtag raced around Twitter, reportedly tweeted more than 53,000 times.
Lots of those tweets asked why the protest wasn’t being reported on by corporate media. The answer by now should be obvious. What you didn’t hear on the news is that more than 400 people were arrested along with Lady Liberty, filling the Capitol’s jails to capacity.
The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur, who took part in the protest, tweeted continuously about the atmosphere and police presence.
Police just told us that they appreciate us being so peaceful. Several pro-police chants throughout. They are also 99%. #DemocracySpring
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) April 11, 2016
Statue of Liberty just got arrested. But that's not the end of freedom, it's the beginning! #DemocracySpring pic.twitter.com/fqTpsc0fEy
— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) April 11, 2016
He also tweeted that the police appreciated the peaceful nature of the protests, and that there were several pro-police chants. Protesters of all ages showed up to the rally.
Lots of elderly protesters getting arrested, some told me they were arrested protesting Vietnam too #DemocracySpring pic.twitter.com/V5RQSEIsNY
— Cassandra ? Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) April 11, 2016
The Democracy Spring website says the non-partisan campaign’s goal is to “demand a Congress that will take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in our politics and ensure free and fair elections in which every American has an equal voice.” They list more than 100 organizations that have pledged support, including Code Pink, Democratic Socialists of America, Food & Water Watch, and Public Citizen.
The protesters took a week to march 140 miles from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to Washington, where they plan to stay for another week. More are set to join the protest until April 18. Civil disobedience, rallies, sit-ins, teach-ins, and marches will continue throughout, with each day focusing on a different theme such as racial justice and labor solidarity.
https://twitter.com/ChuckModi1/status/719599916880945152
Featured image via Imgur.com.
