More than a dozen self-described Green Party activists were arrested Thursday after storming the Democratic Party’s San Francisco headquarters and chaining themselves together with bicycle locks, police said.
Authorities responded to an emergency call from the Democrats’ offices on 10th Street, South of Market, from someone reporting that “hippie demonstrators have broken into Democratic headquarters and are physically disrupting things,” said Inspector Sherman Ackerson, a police spokesman.
The caller reported 30 to 40 people in the office. When officers arrived, they found 15 people – including one juvenile – chained together, Ackerson said.
After firefighters cut the locks, the protesters were detained, booked for trespassing, issued citations and released, Ackerson said, adding he did not think the juvenile – a 17-year-old girl – was arrested.
The protesters – 10 men and five women – identified themselves to police as supporters of Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, Ackerson said. They told police they were protesting Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore’s “tacit approval of exploratory oil drilling in Colombia,” Ackerson said.
The arrestees were part of the same group that turned out at the Democratic headquarters several days ago to protest Nader’s exclusion from Tuesday night’s presidential debate in Boston, police said.
Though authorities reported Thursday’s encounter was not violent, a California spokesman for the Gore campaign said protesters “did shove volunteers, and they were chanting and yelling at volunteers.”
“We respect their right to free speech and to express themselves on this issue,” said Gore campaign spokesman Peter Ragone. “But we also should be mindful of the safety of our volunteers and supporters.”
Ross Mirkarimi, California spokesman for Nader 2000, said he couldn’t confirm the arrested protesters were Nader supporters – but added he wouldn’t be surprised if they were. Mirkarimi said Nader rallies being held around the country have inspired activists of all types to express themselves through acts of civil disobedience.
“The buzz and the enthusiasm generated at these rallies carries over into a very focused activist spirit,” he said. “Civil disobedience and non-violent action is consistent with a progressive community.”
Mirkarimi said that Nader has been a vocal opponent of oil drilling in Colombia.
The issue has dogged the Gore campaign because of the vice president’s ties to Occidental Petroleum, which plans exploratory drilling a few miles outside the boundaries of a U’wa Indian tribe reserve in Colombia. The U’wa believe oil exploration will destroy their culture.
