No War Tax in Smugtown! 2 demonstrators and 3 witnesses arrested by police

On the evening of April 15, three activists were handing out literature and holding signs protesting war spending in front of the IRS building on East Ave. in Downtown Rochester. One of the demonstrators climbed a tree and held a sign that read "Cut War Spending."

With little to no negotiation skills, the first two officers to arrive at the scene threatened to taser Emily from the tree and place her under mental health arrest if she didn't comply with their orders to get down. Shortly thereafter, they called in six others police cars and two firetrucks to the scene. Three police officers used a firetruck ladder to get to Emily in the tree. One officer pepper sprayed her in the eyes at point blank range and forcefully removed her from the tree.

Before the Emily was removed and arrested, Mary, who was holding an anti-war tax sign under the tree that Emily was sitting in, was arrested for trespassing. Ben and Jake were arrested after chanting, behind police lines, "No Justice, No Peace! Fuck the Police!" Ted was arrested after asking the officers what the charges were against Ben and Jake.

Later that night, Ben and Ted were released on bail. Emily and Mary refused to be bailed out. Jake wasn't released because police claimed that his photo ID had expired. The next morning, after the arraignment, it was discovered that his ID was in fact valid and that it was to expire in three months.

The following day, all five were arraigned in Judge John E. Elliott's court. Emily was charged with resisting arrest and trespassing. Mary was charged with trespassing. Ben, Jake, and Ted were charged with disorderly conduct: obscene language/GES.

According to the lawyer who represented three of the five in court today, the section of the disorderly conduct statute that deals with obscenity was already found unconstitutional by the appeals court. The five are scheduled to go back to court at 9:30AM on May 7.