On November 17, a global day of action for the Occupy Movement, Occupy
DC backed up union protesters demanding infrastructure repair jobs. The
unions protested at bridges around the US, selecting Key Bridge for
their protest in DC.



While tens of thousands in NY marched on the Brooklyn Bridge in NY,
Occupy DC marched from McPherson Square, took over Georgetown streets,
and marched to the pedestrian sidewalks of Key Bridge.



Cops were really sweating about the chance that protesters would decide
to block the bridge. The Virginia cops were reported to have full riot
gear as well as tow trucks in case the scenario from the first day of
the Iraq War was repeated. On that day, protesters emerged from the
Metro to block Key Bridge, assisted by two "bat-mobiles" or junk cars
abandoned in blockading positions. Even earlier than that time, striking
sanitation workers during the 1990's once blocked the 14th st bridge by
parking garbage trucks on it.



The DC cops did not show up in riot gear, but the did line the curbs
between sidewalks and streets at the bridge-and refused to allow ANY
pedestrians to use the crosswalks closest to the bridge.



This time around, Occupy DC chose not to block the bridge, doing so
would have been entirely possible by deploying units just outside the
police defenses to cut off access to the bridge from the DC side.



Police problems were limited to a horse cop running into someone and a
motorcycle cop riding too close to but not striking protesters when an
Occupy DC contingent took over the Georgetown streets for a second time
while marching back to McPherson Square from the bridge.



This was the largest protest in Georgetown I have seen since the October
rebellion(Fall 2007 IMF protests, where chain stored boarded up). There
is one other aspect about having a protest of rotting, unmaintained
infrastructure on a bridge-you wonder about the condition of the bridge
you are standing on with all the extra weight!


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