Wednesday, September 5, 2012

13 Arrested on First Day of DNC

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested 13 people throughout the day Tuesday, on the start of the  Democratic National Convention. All but one of those arrested were protesters trying to get a national spotlight because of the media coverage of the convention.

Dylan W. Wrynn

The morning started with the arrests of two demonstrators after they disrupted an energy panel that was being held outside a performing arts center. Forty-three year old Paul G. Davis and 42 year-old Dylan W. Wrynn were both charged with disorderly conduct. Davis was also charged with dispersal of a noxious substance.

As the day continued, 60 year-old John Penley was arrested for attempting to climb over a police barricade. Penley, an Asheville native and Vietnam veteran, was charged with breaching a police line. He had a part in organizing the protest march that was taking place at the time.

Just after 5:00 Tuesday afternoon, police arrested 10 undocumented immigrants that were blocking the intersection of Fifth and College streets by sitting down in the road. Because the intersection is only a block away from the Time Warner Cable Arena, at least one delegate bus went a different route than was planned to the convention.

Paul G. Davis

Jane Doe, Kitzia Esteva, Gloria Martinez Estevez, Jane Doe, Rosa Carrasco, Martin Uncuenta, Eleazar Castellanos, Yovany Diaz, Julio Sanchez, and Gerardo Torres were all arrested and charged with impeding traffic. They are all involved in a group that is actively protesting the deportation of undocumented immigrants. Those arrested also face the possibility of deportation because of a federal program screening all suspects for their status after their arrest.






John Penley
On Tuesday night, Occupy Charlotte demonstrators left their camp site at Marshall Park to take part in a march down Stonewall Street to Tryon Street, escorted by a host of police officers on bikes. As the protesters attempted to turn on Tryon Street, police firmly stood their ground and kept the crowd from entering center city. Reports say that a swarm of officers escorted a group of around 75 protesters back to the park late that night.