Protests and Demonstrations

Jan Brewer Protested, 3 Arrested: Video by Dennis Gilman

Kudos to Phoenix videographer Dennis Gilman for his latest video, which captures the drama of yesterday's demonstration at the state Capitol. There, as Governor Jan Brewer gave her state of the state speech to members of the Legislature, a coalition of activists protested Brewer's executive order ... More >>

Snowbowl Protesters Face Charges for "Quarantine" of Forest Service Office

Four people are accused of violating federal law when they took to a Forest Service office in Coconino County in September to protest the use of reclaimed water to create snow at Arizona Snowbowl.Perhaps there's some irony involved here, but one of the protesters' concerns is that the reclaimed wate ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Protesters Released From Custody

See Also: Joe Arpaio Protesters Arrested During Public DemonstrationThe four people claiming to be undocumented immigrants who were arrested Tuesday during a civil-disobedience protest against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have been released from jail. While Arpaio was on the witness stand in ... More >>

President Obama "Involved" in Joe Arpaio Protests, According to (of Course) Joe Arpaio

​People plan on protesting Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his immigration policies again today, and apparently he suspects President Obama might be behind it.Combining the fact that Arpaio headlined the lunacy of a "birther" investigation into Obama, and Arpaio's trouble with the feds ... More >>

Joe Arpaio: Obama Now Not "Involved" in Protests. It's Currently a "Coincidence"

​Despite Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio scoffing at the idea of President Obama not being "involved" in the protests against him, the conspiracy-theory alert has now been downgraded to "coincidence."Last night, Arpaio was chatting up KPHO about the protests, and said, "If you don't think the p ... More >>

NOFX's "Fat" Mike Burkett Talks Performance Art and Capitalism

ALEC, Phoenix Cops, and Video of Demonstrators at the Westin Kierland

The Stones' "Street Fighting Man" comes to mind...Intriguing video by activist/videographer Dennis Gilman of the fray at the ALEC conference between demonstrators and Phoenix police. While it's hardly the siege of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, some of the tactics of the police are certa ... More >>

"Anarchists" to Blame For ALEC Disruption; "Occupiers" Relatively Tame. Cops Break Out the Pepper Spray

​Phoenix police were forced to use pepper-spray on a group of demonstrators protesting the American Legislative Exchange Council at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in northeast Phoenix this afternoon when the activists raised a little hell in front of the resort.In at least one instance, a prot ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Issues Press Release to Announce He Won't Give "Occupy Phoenix" Protesters Additional Publicity

Interesting headline...for a PRESS RELEASE!​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio issued a press release this afternoon stating that his office will not give "Occupy Phoenix" protesters additional publicity.That's right -- a press release to announce he doesn't want to help publicize the "Occup ... More >>

The Rock the R3volution Tour Was Supposed to Galvanize Ron Paul Supporters -- Then It Fell Apart

Occupy Phoenix Has Cost Taxpayers (99-Percenters Included) More Than $200,000 in Less Than Two Weeks

James King City taxpayers have shelled out over $200,000 so this chick can walk carry a sign calling Jan Brewer a "lying whore."​The occupation of downtown Phoenix may not have shut down Wall Street (shocking, we know), but it's definitely putting a burden on city resources -- to the tune o ... More >>

Occupy Phoenix Folks, Tea Partiers Earn Phoenix "Angriest Cities" (Gulp) Honors

James King​Regardless of political affiliation, people across the country are pissed off about one thing or another, but there's only a few cities that -- as a whole -- are more pissed off than Phoenix, according to a recent ranking of pissed off cities.The Daily Beast website recently ranked Phoe ... More >>

This Has Been a Good Week For Black Star Fans

​It's been a really great week for Black Star fans -- and I'm one of them. Black Star, the 1998 collaboration between Mos Def and Talib Kweli is one of my favorite hip-hop albums. The duo performed "Fix Up," produced by the nearly always awesome Madlib, on The Colbert Report, on Wednesday, October ... More >>

The Associated Press Flubs SB1070 Protester Story

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Faces New Lawsuits Over Last Year's Arrest of Demonstrators at Jail; One Protester Claims He was Beaten by Guards

Image: Democracy NowSunita Patel says in a federal complaint that she was acting as a legal observer when sheriff's deputies arrested her during a protest last year at the 4th Avenue Jail.​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is being sued again -- this time by four immigration activists arrested la ... More >>

MLB All-Star Game Fans Confronted by SB 1070 Protesters

Kholood EidThe scene outside Chase Field Tuesday...Members of the human-rights group Puente greeted sports fans with anti-Senate Bill 1070 chants and signs outside Chase Field Tuesday, as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game got under way.About 100 protesters from Puente demonstrated against Ariz ... More >>

For Sheriff Arpaio, Protesters Laid Out Red Carpet -- of New Times Issues Criticizing His Office

Image: Jose Munoz These jackboots are made for walking -- and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio walked all over our article about love and corruption among his command officers.​We don't know whether Sheriff Joe Arpaio read last week's New Times article about his lovey-dovey top commander ... More >>

Richard Chrisman BBQ at PLEA Offices Protested

Protesters berate cops coming out of the Chrisman BBQCops and other attendees had to run the gauntlet today at a BBQ/fundraiser for fired, killer-cop Richard Chrisman, held in an underground enclosure at the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the powerful police union that reps rank and file Phoen ... More >>

Governor Signs Measure Prohibiting Pickets and Protests Near Funeral Services

Governor Jan Brewer​Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill that was expedited through the House and Senate to prevent members of a fundamentalist church from disrupting the funerals of victims from the January 8 shooting spree in Tucson.Brewer called the measure "a truly bipartisan effor ... More >>

Morning Poll: Should Major League Baseball Move All-Star Game Out of Arizona?

​Most people go to baseball games to unwind and put the real world behind them for a few, brief hours. That's proven to not be the case for protesters opposed to Arizona's controversial, new immigration law. Those people tend to go to games to piss an moan about the law and allow politics to rear ... More >>

Bud Selig Needs To Move 2011 All-Star Game or Risk a Tsunami of Protests

movethegame.org If Selig keeps the All-Star Game in Phoenix, expect a repeat of July 29 Undoubtedly many of you have seen the latest action by anti-SB 1070 demonstrators urging Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to nix the 2011 All-Star Game scheduled for Phoenix's Chase Field ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Hated On In San Diego During Country Club Visit

Sheriff Joe is a little like the alien life force in the classic Star Trek original series episode "Day of the Dove," wherein the alien feeds off hate and can only be defeated with laughter.Witness Arpaio's recent excursion to speak at a country club in San Diego. Protesters, of course, assembled ou ... More >>

Two More Law Enforcement Agencies Announce Arrests From Protest; Total: 71

www.viralpolitics.comThis sign is NOT from yesterday's rally.​Since our earlier post about the number of arrests made during yesterday's SB 1070 protests in downtown Phoenix, other law enforcement agencies that were slappin' cuffs on protesters checked in and bumped up the total number of arrests ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Deputies Faced Down by Anti-SB 1070 Protesters in Guadalupe

Demonstrators await the MCSO's response last night in GuadalupeChanting, "We will not comply," and, "Whose streets? Our streets," a group of about 70 protesters took over one of the entrances to the square-mile town of Guadalupe Wednesday night, facing down Maricopa County sheriff's deputies in a te ... More >>

SB 1070 Rage: Salvador Reza, Alfredo Gutierrez, Scores of Others Arrested in Phoenix

Rubin Lucio and the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray being arrested at Fourth Avenue Jail today Phoenix exploded today in a fit of anti-SB 1070 rage that only a summer rain seems to have dampened for the moment. Scores of activists including Phoenix civil rights leader Salvador Reza of the organization Pue ... More >>

Seven Arrested at Federal Courthouse During SB1070 Protest

  Image: Ray Stern An unidentified woman is led away in handcuffs by Phoenix police during a protest of SB1070 on Thursday outside the federal courthouse.​Seven activists were arrested by Phoenix police today during protests of SB1070 outside of the federal courthouse, where hearings ... More >>

John McCain's Tucson Office Protested, Undocumented Activists Arrested

David Abie Morales Screenshot from David Abie Morales' video of the protest today in Tucson The Arizona Daily Star is reporting that four young pro-immigration demonstrators, three of them undocumented, were arrested during a protest at U.S. Senator John McCain's Tucson office today. The Star ... More >>

Activists Chain Themselves to Arizona Capitol to Protest Russell Pearce's SB 1070

Two of the nine protesters who chained themselves to the Capitol's doors in protest of SB 1070Nine activists protesting state Senator Russell Pearce's anti-immigrant bill SB 1070 chained and locked themselves to the doors of the Arizona Capitol today, forcing the Capitol Police to use bolt cutters t ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Visit to Mesa Community College Will Be Protest Sign-Free

www.citizensrequired.com​If you plan on heading to Mesa Community College tomorrow to protest Sheriff Joe Arpaio, you'll have to leave your "Joe Sucks" sign at home -- the fuzz isn't allowing signs on the campus while the sheriff speaks with a group of college Republicans.Kevin Fosburgh, president ... More >>

More Video of Anarchists' Altercation with Phoenix PD, So Far, the Video Does Not Back the Anarchists' Claims

Another video of Saturday's showdown between cops and anarchists, watch for the conflict to begin about 4 minutes inAs the debate roils online about the pepper-spraying incident at Saturday's anti-Arpaio march, more video is being posted to the Internet, and so far, the video does not back the anarc ... More >>

Local Attorneys (Not Just Criminal Defense-Types) to Demonstrate Against County Attorney Andy Thomas

Exactly one week from now, an unknown number of fed-up Maricopa County's criminal-defense lawyers are planning to protest the ongoing "evil" reign of County Attorney Andy Thomas on the steps of the downtown Phoenix court complex. Edit Entry - Valley Fever | Movable Type Enterprise​Say ... More >>

Detention Officers to Hold Nightly Candlelight Vigil for Jailed Comrade; Sickout Yesterday Delayed 143 Cases

Image: www.youtube.comAdam Stoddard​ Maricopa County detention officers plan to hold candlight vigils starting this evening to protest the jailing of a fellow officer who swiped papers from a defense attorney's file. The Web site for the Maricopa County Association of Detention Officers says ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Declares End to Jail Lockdown, Admits Hunger Strike Involved 1800 Inmates

photo by Dennis Gilman A recent candlelight vigil at Arpaio's Fourth Avenue Jail in support of the hunger strikers Sheriff Joe has just declared the jail lockdowns caused by massive hunger strikes ongoing in his vast incarceration complex to be over. The MCSO issued a press release on the mat ... More >>

Durango Hunger Strike on Cinco de Mayo Confirmed by Board of Supervisors

Following up on yesterday's blog item about the hunger strike in Joe's jails, I spoke with Maricopa County Board of Supervisors spokesman Richard DeUriarte this afternoon, and he confirmed that a massive hunger strike did take place yesterday in MCSO's Durango Jail. DeUriarte said that on Cinco de ... More >>

Hunger Strike in Joe Arpaio's Jails: 500 Reportedly Refusing to Eat Because of Bad Food

from MCSO.org Durango Jail, where some of the 500 hunger strikers are being held Phoenix civil rights activist Salvador Reza and Univision Channel 33 are reporting that there is a hunger strike on in Joe's jails, with about 500 prisoners joining in the action to protest the atrocious food ser ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Panics Over May 2 March; Activists and Law Enforcement Fear Violence from Provocateurs Infilatrating Protesters' Ranks

Arpaio sticks it to the prisoners, while rumors of provocateurs in tomorrow's march aboundSheriff Joe Arpaio is officially freaking out over the May 2 anti-Arpaio Walk for Respect, which will begin at 9 a.m. tomorrow at the Wells Fargo building downtown (100 West Washington Street) and continue on ... More >>

March to Stop the Hate

Barack Obama and the Anti-Arpaio Protesters at Dobson High, Dennis Gilman's Latest

B-rock's recent visit to Mesa garnered loads of local coverage, some of which mentioned those who showed up to protest the President's stimulus package. But not much was said of the more than 100 there demanding that Obama do something about Sheriff Joe Arpaio's misuse of the federal governmen ... More >>

Light Rail Sit-in Called Off As Organizer Loses His Nerve

Is it just us, or have people in this town lost their balls? For instance, we reported on Wednesday about local photographer Morgan Bellinger's plan to stage a light rail sit-in later this month as a way to protest the fact that the trains stop running at midnight. But now he's pulled an complete ... More >>

Gaza Comes to Central Phoenix in Tuesday's Pro-Palestinian Demo

Demonstrators marching at Thomas and Central in Phoenix. When I got word that End the War Coalition, Code Pink, Women in Black, and other lefty, peacenik groups would be holding a vigil at Thomas and Central calling for an end to Israel's attack on Hamas in Gaza, I was skeptical there'd be more th ... More >>

Sheriff Joe Offers Hispanics an Olive Branch, Kinda-Sorta, on Barriozona.com.

The Bird joins the anti-Arpaio siege at Wells Fargo, postmortems the Pearce- Gibbons race, and knocks Napolitano for defending Sarah Palin

The long march to victory over Sheriff Joe Arpaio, one Barnes and Noble at a time.

Protesters Rally in the Streets of Phoenix on May 27, 2008

Grassroots Operation

Potheads unite for Million Joint March

Lookout, Super Bowl, the protests have begun. This week, El Break goes on a hunger strike to demand Dream Act passage.

Naked Jungle

PETA's a no-show for a much-hyped cage match with Barnum & Bailey

Big Mac on Campus

ASU revolutionary plots a schoolwide food fight

Holy War

Demonstrators launch boycott and announce plans for legal action against the Catholic diocese