[Update at end] ORIGINAL POST, JULY 30, 4:00 P.M.:After demonstrations in front of the Anaheim Police Department yesterday, at least four protesters were reportedly snatched up by police while marching to a vigil in the Anna Drive neighborhood honoring Manuel Diaz around 6 p.m. Sunday night.
One of the arrestees was Richard Florence of Occupy Los Angeles. Witness Sam Aresheh tells OC Weekly the demonstrators were on their way to the neighborhood from the police station when police officers dressed in military fatigues jumped out of their vans and grabbed the protesters, who were peacefully demonstrating on the sidewalk.
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Earlier on the day of his arrest, Florence showed the Weekly the sign he spent most of the day making at Kinko's, which read, “Hey Kids! Check out my military police!”
Florence confirmed he is being charged with assaulting a police animal; he says he's innocent. Another arrestee who asked to be identified only as Atef, confirmed he is being charged with the same crime.
Shortly after being arrested, Atef sent out this message to his followers on Twitter.
Aresheh says all of the protesters were on the sidewalk at the time of the arrests, and he denied that they had harmed the police horses during the march. Because Atef and Florence were the ones to call out “Mic check!” to announce the march to the vigil, Aresheh says he believes they were targeted as “leaders” of the march.
Both Atef and Florence were told the city was in a “state of emergency” and they could not be released until after it was declared over. After posting bail, Atef left jail at 2 a.m. this morning, while Florence left about two hours later.
UPDATE, JULY 29 6:20 P.M.: The Orange County Register released the names of nine people arrested, with Atef's name nowhere in sight. Atef confirmed with OC Weekly he was indeed arrested and spent the night in jail last night.
Florence, whose actual name is Richard Brown, was arrested on suspicion of throwing an object at police and providing a false name, and his companion Kristine Headley was arrested on suspicion of failure to disperse. Brown and Headley were among the four that Areheh witnessed being snatched up by police, as well as Govanni Loeza of Santa Ana, who was arrested on suspicion of throwing an object at police.
Here is the list of the rest of the individuals arrested on Sunday.
Nathaniel Sierdsma, 19, San Bernardino, suspicion of resisting arrest and pedestrian in the roadway from Occupy Los Angeles
Mark Dameron, 20, San Diego, suspicion of resisting arrest and pedestrian in the roadway from Occupy San Diego
Corbin Sobrita, 20, Escondido, suspicion of resisting arrest and pedestrian in the roadway from Occupy San Diego
Antonio Marquez, 24, Indiana, suspicion of resisting arrest and failure to obey an official street sign
Juvenile, 16, Anaheim, suspicion of felony assault and indecent exposure
Juvenile, 16, Anaheim, suspicion of resisting arrest and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana
UPDATE, JULY 29 8:10 P.M.: Video where Atef, an Anaheim resident, can be shown arrested at 1:32 and led to a white police van at 2:02. At 2:46 Brown is chased by police after holding up his Mickey Mouse military sign. Headley is arrested a few moments later.
