August 15 2019 - An ICE prison guard rams a blockade of Jewish antifascist protesters in Central Falls, Rhode Island, after which his colleagues come over to pepper spray them. An eyewitness account:
Tonight I planned to be arrested protesting at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, RI. I wore comfortable layers. I made sure to not drink too much water. I left my phone and keys with a volunteer in a baggie with my name on it. The only things in my pockets were $40 and a photo ID. Four hours later, I watched the ambulances gather up the seriously injured.The action was organized by Never Again is Now. We marched from Jenks Park, singing, chanting, praying. We gathered outside of the facility, about 40 of us who had planned to get arrested, and large crowd of other protesters. We delivered a letter with demands, and when, as expected, the demands were not met, we lined up outside the two entrances to the Wyatt, one to block pedestrian access and the other to block vans. However, because they knew we were coming, they had rescheduled all prisoner transfers so there were no vans coming in or out.
So we decided to relocate to the adjacent parking lot, to block guards from leaving when their shift was over. There was a large entrance and a smaller entrance off to the side. At first I was with the big group at the front entrance. Then a car started heading towards the side entrance, so some of us broke off to block that exit. The person in that car was a woman, and she left her engine on the whole time during what followed.At the main entrance, at about 9:30pm, a guard in a black pickup truck roared down the street, and rammed directly into the line of protestors on that side. Two people were injured. Then, WITHIN SECONDS, a horde of guards came streaming out of the prison and pepper-sprayed the protesters, including the injured. Let me be clear: there is no way that they could have gotten there that fast unless there was some communication ahead of time from the guy in the truck about his plan.
Many people were seriously injured by the amount and manner in which the pepper spray was used. Prison guards absolutely do not have the authority to use their pepper-spray, a weapon that is part of their job, against civilians outside a prison. And none of the protesters was on prison grounds; we were across the street in a parking lot, which was adjacent to a soccer and baseball field. Earlier in the evening, there had been kids playing there.
On our side, we were sitting across the entrance to the parking lot, facing outwards. The woman was still behind us with her lights and engine on. We heard screams but could not see the other group. At that moment, the woman in the car behind us revved her engine several times, to intimidate us into moving. We stood up and faced her. We did not move, and we wanted her to look us in the eye if she was going to run us over. She did not move.This was a premeditated attack. There were both local and state cops in the area - they were there all night keeping an eye on things, but they would do loops, they were not always right in front. The guard watched and waited for a moment when none of the 3 cars that were patrolling were within line of sight to carry out his attack. But he did coordinate with his fellow guards inside so that they were ready in an instant to pour out of the facility and across the street with their pepper spray.
When the local cops came back, it was pretty clear that they were PISSED at the guards - I do want to say that in fairness. I do not believe that the local cops were part of the conspiracy. Honestly, this is going to bring such a stream of crap to Central Falls in the coming weeks, and this makes their life very difficult. National attention. But at the same time, they did not immediately arrest the driver. All they would say is that there would be an investigation.
When it became clear how seriously injured some folks were, the rest of the protest was cancelled, including our group on the far side of the parking lot. So I came home with the $40 still in my pocket.I joined this action because I’ve reached a point where I look at everything I’ve done so far and there’s no risk, no personal cost. If I look at this moment in history, and all I can say is that I posted some stuff and waved some signs, but was unwilling to take any risk or do anything that might cost me, I simply cannot live with that. ICE is perpetrating crimes against humanity. I will not be a person who looked the other way, who hoped it would go away.
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EDIT [the next morning when I can speak more clearly]: For clarity, I don’t think the Central Falls police were involved in the planning of the attack, but they were very involved in covering it up by not arresting the guard immediately and in the way they responded to witnesses. Earlier in the night, they blatantly lied to us about who the woman was in the car behind us in an effort to get us to leave. All cops are complicit.
Also, by now I’m sure everyone reading this has seen the video and the other news coverage and they made it more clear: he was outside the parking lot, ramming inwards. It’s not like he was inside and frustrated with us blocking him.
Please, if you talk about this story, make sure to ask the question: if they treated us with this level of violence, a group of civilian protesters with cops not that far away and everyone having a cellphone camera, what do you think they are doing to those detained in the facility who have no way to get the word out about their treatment?
One of the items that Never Again is Now was protesting about this facility was the lack of transparency and proof that detainees rights are being met. After last night, it’s not enough for the Wyatt to just cancel the ICE contract. The whole facility needs to be shut down. Tell your RI senators and reps: No for-profit prisons in RI!
