LOS ANGELES, November 18, 2008 – All was going nicely at this Sunday’s opening night event for an alternative community art center, dubbed the TOW space, until some uninvited city employees ruined the party. Claiming to be in search of a shoplifting suspect police forced a group of about 50 people out of the space and into street for a line up. Everyone was searched and forced to line up for close to 30 minutes while police went down the line. Six people in all were arrested. At least 25 police officers took part in the raid with a police helicopter circling above and it seemed to those there to be a rather excessive response to a shoplifting incident. The shoplifting claim is widely believed to be a cover story for a police raid that appeared to many to be planned in advance. Speculation is that the space is being targeted by the LAPD for the political affiliations of some of the participants in the event last Sunday night. There are reports that two of those arrested are members of the Black Riders Liberation Party.
Reports and eye witness accounts: LAPD suppresses radical art space by tu_kuñ(A)'o | |
Police Raid of Anarchist Event by johnaimani | |
Anarchist bookfair meeting raided by LAPD by josh | |
Media from raid on anarchists by witness | |
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Police Raid Downtown Community Art Space