Blog post

Editors of new Verso book Occupy! arrested today at N17 protest

Anne Sullivan17 November 2011

Occupy!: Scenes from Occupied America editors Keith Gessen, co-founder of n+1, Sarah Leonard, an editor at Dissent and The New Inquiry, Kathleen Ross, business manager of n+1, and Eli Schmitt, an editor of the Occupy! Gazette, were arrested while protesting in downtown Manhattan the morning of November 17, 2011.

Kathleen, Sarah, and Eli were released later that day and and returned to join the gathering at Foley Square that evening. Each was given two counts of disorderly conduct.

Keith was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, plus an additional charge of disrupting government administration, a misdemeanor. The reason is unclear. It could be because he declined to stand and walk to the paddywagon, and allowed police to carry him there. 

Keith was released, along with the last of the OWS detainees, late the following night. The reason given for his being detained for over 36 hours was that the arresting officer forgot to sign his statement.

ABC News ran footage of Keith's arrest and the statement he gave while in handcuffs: 

"Our political system is broken, our politicians get to Washington and don't do what we ask them to do and it seems like they don't listen to our votes. We don't have the money or resources and we have to come out to the street."

Occupy!: Scenes from Occupied America features the editors and writers of the celebrated n+1 magazine, as well as some of the world’s leading radical thinkers, such as Slavoj Žižek, Angela Davis, and Rebecca Solnit.

 

Filed under: occupy