Day 70
Occupy Houston performs an arrest skit with umbrella weapons, FedEx a letter toBarack Obama
Protestors chant "Protect our constitution!" during the skit prepared for theoccasion.Photo by Whitney Radley
The skit ends with the protestors' (fake) arrest.Photo by Whitney Radley
Protestors grill Albert Cheng, Kay Bailey Hutchison's deputy regional director,about the senator's voting record.Photo by Whitney Radley
It's a busy week for Houston occupiers.
After Monday's demonstration at the Port of Houston, Occupy Houston had to gather bail money for the 25 arrested protestors (all but one have been released, according to occupier "Benjamin Franklin"), contend with seven possible felony charges (which a judge dismissed), entertain out-of-town guests from all over Texas and deal with inclement weather.
But on Thursday, the occupiers marched again, joining forces with Houston Free Thinkers and other civil rights activists and targeting the offices of U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn in recognition of the 220th anniversary of the Bill of Rights, in protest of the recently-passed National Defense Authorization Act (Senate Bill 1867) and in solidarity with occupiers from Asheville to Wall Street.
"People can be held without due process. It's scary."
"The NDAA is the most recent national defense bill, and it basically gives the defense department the ability to declare the U.S. a battle zone," explained Philip Lavine of the Houston Free Thinkers. "People can be held without due process. It's scary."
For the occasion, Occupy Houston protestors prepared a skit depicting protestors and U.S. forces (armed with umbrellas) facing off, the latter using SB 1867 as justification to detain the former without probable cause or access to an attorney.
Outside of Senator Hutchison's office at 1919 Smith Street, the protestors performed the skit in a grassy area to a meager audience, then stood outside of the locked glass doors to await the arrival of Albert Cheng, Hutchison's deputy regional director.
Occupiers served Cheng with signed letters rejecting the NDAA as unconstitutional (Occupy Houston spokesperson Amy Price said that an identical letter from Occupy Houston has also been addressed and send via FedEx to President Barack Obama) and questioned the Hutchison's representative about why the senator is taking away citizens' rights.
At 2:30 p.m., Occupy Houston plans to march on Cornyn's office at 5300 Memorial Drive and do the same.
