Attorney Ed Frey Arrested on 35th Night of Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010
Aug 8th
On Saturday, August 7th, shortly before midnight, Santa Cruz County Sheriffs began to awaken and arrest constitutional lawyer Edward Frey as he slept on the plaza of the County Courthouse. It was the 35th consecutive night of Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010, a demonstration against the Santa Cruz Sleeping Ban, officially known as M.C. 6.36.010, which makes it a crime to sleep outdoors in Santa Cruz, with or without bedding, at any time between the hours of 11pm to 8:30am.
Frey, and others who have been arrested at Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010, was not charged with violating M.C. 6.36.010, the city law which the demonstration targets. Instead, Santa Cruz County Sheriffs are citing and arresting people for allegedly violating California Penal Code Section 647(e), an anti-vagrancy statute which dates back to slavery laws. Read More and View Photos
Chess, Drums, Snacks, Sleep and Sheriffs at Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010
Aug 5th
Wednesday, August 4th marked the 31st day and 32nd night of Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010, which is taking place at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse to protest the Santa Cruz Sleeping Ban, officially known as M.C. 6.36.010, and provide a safer spot for people to sleep at night.
In the afternoon, Ronee Curry, a supporter of folks on the street, brought much joy to the camp with a delivery of burritos, sandwiches and donuts. The traditional Wednesday drum circle, which for years played at the farmer’s market, and then on the river levee for several weeks, migrated the weekly ritual to the courthouse lawn.
At about 11:15pm, five sheriff’s deputies individually approached, awakened, interrogated, warned, and photographed homeless people sleeping at the County Building and Courthouse. Robert Norse, a homeless rights advocate, reports that angry Peace Camp 2010 residents followed the deputies, denouncing the harassment and invasion of peoples’ privacy, as they shined flashlights in the faces of sleeping people. No arrests were reported, however according to Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010, less than 45 minutes after the action by the Sheriff’s deputies, a disabled protester with a heart condition was treated by paramedics then taken by ambulance. Read More and View Photos
Day 31 at Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010
Aug 4th
August 3rd was the 31st day of Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010, a protest at the county courthouse against the City of Santa Cruz municipal code known as the Sleeping Ban. The Peace Camp began on July 4th as a 8pm – 8am refuge for people in Santa Cruz who do not have a legal or safe place to sleep between the hours of 11pm to 8:30am. It quickly transformed into a full-time demonstration for all to see.
Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010 is reminiscent of the 2007 protest against the Sleeping Ban which began on August 12th at City Hall and lasted about a week. The Santa Cruz police department raided the demonstration at City Hall at 3am on August 18th. As in the case with Santa Cruz Peace Camp 2010, the 2007 protest was a public visualization of the lack of a place for people to legally sleep. Read More and View Photos
Santa Cruz Responds to SB 1070, Arizona’s Criminalization of Immigrant Communities
Jul 30th
On July 29th, a diverse showing of Santa Cruz residents rallied at Depot Park and marched up Pacific Avenue to the town clock in protest of Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070, a legislative act that is said to be the broadest and strictest anti-immigrant measure in decades. The demonstrators proclaimed solidarity with all communities resisting SB 1070, a law they say scapegoats migrants, and also voiced outrage to local police and sheriffs working with the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within Santa Cruz County neighborhoods and the jail.
Demonstrators carried homemade signs with statements such as, “Blame Wall Street, Not Immigrants” and “Destroy Every Border, Solidarity to Detainees & Prisoners, Free Them All!” Read More and View Photos
“Unreasonably Disturbing Noises” Trial Continued for Robert Facer and Robert Norse
Jul 20th
On July 20th, Robert “Blindbear” Facer, a homeless street musician, and Robert Norse, a housed activist and long-time supporter of homeless civil rights, had their trial continued until August 3rd. On January 6th, they were issued a $445 citation for an alleged violation of MC 9.36.020, the city’s ordinance against “unreasonably disturbing noises,” during a demonstration against war and occupation abroad and the local criminalization of poverty, within a “free speech zone” outside of Bookshop Santa Cruz on the Pacific Avenue sidewalk.
The police allegedly arrived at the January 6th demonstration to issue citations based on a “citizen’s complaint” from Sean Reilly, a resident in the nearby St. George apartments. He complained because he was trying to sleep, at 2:30pm, on a Wednesday. Sean was in court on July 20th and presumably ready to testify. SCPD officer Lauren Schonfield, who issued the citations, also appeared in court.
