Facebook briefly shut down a page dedicated to informing activists planning a Friday protest for charges to be dropped against the arrest of 14 activists who chained themselves to trains and shut down the West Oakland BART station last November. The page was restored a few hours later.
“The event has been removed until the administrator can verify his or her account. We have personally reached out to the administrator to explain the steps that can be taken to verify their account so the event can be restored,” an email from Facebook read, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Friday’s protests are set to begin at 7 am and will kick off 96 hours of direct action culminating with Monday’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. day. MLK, Jr.’s birthday is actually on January 15.
Protests over grand jury decisions in Ferguson, Missouri and New York, had died down after they were washed out by global outcry over terrorist attacks in Paris last week.
Organizers have taken to social media requesting everyone attending Friday’s protests bring a spoon with them. Authorities and media alike have been curious as to why the organizers would request spoons.
In previous Ferguson protests, spoons were used to make ear-splitting, attention-grabbing noise. If enough spoons are thrown onto the BART tracks, they could possibly immobilize and short out the system.
BART has stated that while it defends free speech and the right for Friday’s protesters to carry out their demonstration peacefully, that “if protesters choose potentially dangerous actions that cause major service disruptions, BART police are prepared to enforce the law and ensure public safety.”
BART: “our priority is public safety” Me: “what could possibly be safer than a spoon”
— The Specter of Scott (@OakScott) January 16, 2015
In 2003 a man in England used a dessert spoon to commit murder. That reminds us of the saying, “guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter: @AdelleNaz.
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