Read on Twitter
Thread showing sequence of events where police threaten arrests for people in the roadway. Here the march walks from downtown (in the street) into Union Square Park. The 14th Street sidewalk is very wide there. People filter into the park's plazas walking up very low steps. 1/ https://twitter.com/s_nessen/status/1324527849911603201
Easy to see from @ChristRobbins excellent, slow pan showing north side of 14th St and police on south side of 14th (Whole Foods) traffic is moving. Union Square Park sidewalk is not blocked. Demonstration is well inside the park on a higher level plaza. 2/ https://twitter.com/ChristRobbins/status/1324528045907185665
That last clip was posted at 8:44 pm. (seems close to time of actual event). Reporter @katie_honan was on the south side of 14 St when police arrest threat announcement played. A mob of cops including police brass surged across an empty 14th street. 3/ https://mobile.twitter.com/katie_honan/status/1324543599107809280
. @ChristRobbins offers a more complete rendering of audio of police announcement threatening arrest for blocking the street immediately before the charge. Nothing's happening except police are ratcheting up the temperature of events with their threats. 4/ https://twitter.com/ChristRobbins/status/1324540781152096258
Is this a mob? Journo @s_nessen on park side videos police surge fronted by wall of bike robocops. We know he's standing in the park because he looks down onto police from plaza level. NYPD recording: "Since you have refused to leave the roadway..." 5/ https://mobile.twitter.com/s_nessen/status/1324541847562313730
Police enter Union Square Park in extremely intimidating postures, pushing people in front of them, and yelling, "MOVE BACK! MOVE BACK!" Generally, folks just get out of their way. There's no fighting and no arrests visible on this clip. 6/ https://twitter.com/ChristRobbins/status/1324542151800270850
. @s_nessen was standing just slightly west of @ChristRobbins and wound up right next to the SRG group in the turtle suits. We see the SRG unit reforming a skirmish line. (Absurd tactic because this crowd isn't unruly.) 7/ https://mobile.twitter.com/s_nessen/status/1324542145827688456
Police were extremely physical with the remnants of the trans march. Their weekly event–We Choose Freedom–is known for being a happy event with no arrests. Again, what you're looking at is a public park where people are, by law, allowed to gather. 8/ https://twitter.com/ChristRobbins/status/1324542494407827456
As is typical, activists have learned to de-escalate situations where police are liable to go off for no discernible reason. (Not surprisingly, it seems like animus.) Here's some Sam Cooke. https://twitter.com/ChristRobbins/status/1324552897611370497
Police had some unknown set of agendas tonight. A little while later they came to snatch one person who was hanging out. Why? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 10/ (I skipped 9/ in error.) https://twitter.com/ChristRobbins/status/1324561126143729664
See more in the threads of brave journalists in the middle of this @ChristRobbins @s_nessen and @katie_honan.
See also @itsa_talia's great thread of analysis + video https://mobile.twitter.com/itsa_talia/status/1324510027667955713
Photojournalist @ninarobertsnyc has joyous images of the night https://mobile.twitter.com/ninarobertsnyc/status/1324525106538958849
See also @itsa_talia's great thread of analysis + video https://mobile.twitter.com/itsa_talia/status/1324510027667955713
Photojournalist @ninarobertsnyc has joyous images of the night https://mobile.twitter.com/ninarobertsnyc/status/1324525106538958849
