Anti ID Card Protesters Arrested
Ward | 03.12.2008 08:38 | Sheffield
POLICE made a dozen arrests after a group of anarchists staged a protest at the Home Office buildings in Sheffield.
Members of the Anarchists’ Federation arrived at Vulcan House in Millsands on the Riverside in Sheffield city centre at around 8.30am to mount a protest against the Government’s ID card scheme.
After being refused entry by security staff many of the protesters chained themselves to the building forcing hundreds of staff to enter via the emergency exits.
The protesters were warned by police that they would be arrested if they did not move on.
By 11.30am officers had cleared the area after making 12 arrests for alleged aggravated trespass.
Those arrested were taken into custody and spent the rest of the day being questioned.
Student Will Wright who acts as a spokesperson for the Anarchists Federation said: “The demonstration was against the national rolling out of ID cards for non-EU nationals as well as against ID cards in general.
“The police treated us very fairly and warned us that anyone who failed to move on would be arrested.”
http://rinf.com/alt-news/contributions/anti-id-card-protesters-arrested/4967/
After being refused entry by security staff many of the protesters chained themselves to the building forcing hundreds of staff to enter via the emergency exits.
The protesters were warned by police that they would be arrested if they did not move on.
By 11.30am officers had cleared the area after making 12 arrests for alleged aggravated trespass.
Those arrested were taken into custody and spent the rest of the day being questioned.
Student Will Wright who acts as a spokesperson for the Anarchists Federation said: “The demonstration was against the national rolling out of ID cards for non-EU nationals as well as against ID cards in general.
“The police treated us very fairly and warned us that anyone who failed to move on would be arrested.”
http://rinf.com/alt-news/contributions/anti-id-card-protesters-arrested/4967/
Ward
Additions
Correction:
03.12.2008 10:24
*Activists from around Yorkshire were involved in this.
*Noone was refused entry as noone was trying to enter the building anyway. (it was shut at that time so of course noone would be allowed in)
*It wasn't the emergency exits, it was the public entrance and the two staff entrances at the front of the building (two D-locked to the public entrance, three to the barriers either side of one of the staff entrances with both the staff entrances locked around the handles)
*11 people were arrested, not 12.
*By 8pm everyone had been released with a caution.
*Despite the fact you wrote down the 'spokesperson's' name, you actually got it wrong anyway.
Defy ID
sorry...
03.12.2008 10:38
"It wasn't the emergency exits,* it was the public entrance and the two staff entrances at the front of the building (two D-locked to the public entrance, three to the barriers either side of one of the staff entrances with both the staff entrances locked around the handles)"
* the staff were able to get in through one of the many other staff entrances to the building, a huge building like that has more than one staff entrance.
Members of the public couldn't get in as the doors blocked were the ones with all the security checks and obviously the Home Office couldn't have members of the public running about inside with searching through all their things.
* the staff were able to get in through one of the many other staff entrances to the building, a huge building like that has more than one staff entrance.
Members of the public couldn't get in as the doors blocked were the ones with all the security checks and obviously the Home Office couldn't have members of the public running about inside with searching through all their things.
Defy ID
Comments
Hide the following 5 comments
Anarchist federation
03.12.2008 09:31
Muppet
legal stuff
03.12.2008 09:44
If any of the people arrested were actually charged they'd be fucked.
Anarchist Lawlord
Eek.
03.12.2008 12:12
With regards to the description, he composited the fact that I said the police were treating us fairly (i.e. were not completely nobs) with a separate statement that they asked us to move on. Nonetheless I admit I fucked up on that bit and apologise.
StudentWW
nice action Will! ignore the whingers
03.12.2008 21:04
Sounds like a great action, you got off you butt and did something, which is a lot more than most of us did.
anon
Stuff the law
04.12.2008 01:04
If any of the people arrested were actually charged they'd be fucked."
Considering that a) all of the people arrested accepted police cautions, which involves an admission of guilt, and b) the police filmed themselves telling us to move on or we'd be arrested, I don't think Student Will Wright fucked up too badly there. Also, just to stress that we don't have spokesmen, or even spokeswomen, we just have people who end up not getting arrested on the day and so get stuck with the job of talking to journalists (and then get misquoted for their pains).
Sheff AFer