Go Home Already: Shouts and Murmurs
Man Stops Traffic at 17th and K to Demand $200 Million
Compromise Uncertain on Same-Sex Marriage Law
Morning Roundup: Goodbye, Abe Edition
Judge Throws Out WTU Suit Over Teacher Layoffs
UPDATE 2: DCist's own Mehan Jayasuriya checks in with a report of how things are progressing at the site:
"There were still a number of police cars and at least one fire truck on the scene when I arrived. The entire area was cordoned off with police tape and there were quite a few people milling about, snapping photos and gawking at the damage. There was a glass repair company installing wooden boards to cover the broken windows. As you can see from the photos, pretty much every single window facing P Street was blown out at the banks, though it looked like most of the glass had been cleaned up by the time I got there."
UPDATE: The key word floating around early blog reaction to the event appears to be "jerks." Meanwhile, City Paper's Jason Cherkis reports that the ATM at the Wachovia branch is still operational. (So much for the plans to disrupt the flow of capitalism.)
DCist received a tip this morning from a resident in Logan Circle that the area around both the PNC and Wachovia bank branches on the 1400 block of P Street NW had been severely vandalized, with branch windows broken and neighboring cars at the Whole Foods spray painted. The Washington Post now reports that the vandalism was likely perpetrated by protesters in town for the IMF/World Bank protests which began early this morning.
As the Post reports:
An off-duty D.C. police officer working security at a drug store this morning spotted the six breaking windows of a Wachovia Bank branch and a PNC bank branch in the 1400 block of P St NW, Crane said. The officer arrested two of the suspects. Other officers arrested the remaining four as they fled the area, Crane said.The group had also spray painted cars parked near the Whole Foods across the street, Crane said.
They were charged with felony counts of destruction of property and rioting, a charge that police said they brought because the group was larger than five people.
We'll bring more details as they become available.
Photo by Mehan Jayasuriya.
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Shoot to kill.
throw the book at the shits. fuck that juvenile bullshit.
throw the book at the shits. fuck that juvenile bullshit.
You know, I didn't really agree with these protesters before. But now that they've fucked up my car, I really have no choice but to support their cause.
Kill 'em all!
When they're in prison for a year or two I hope they look back and decide this was worth it. I'm guessing they won't.
Fresh fish! Fresh fish! Fresh fish!
Fresh fish! Fresh fish! Fresh fish!
These banks should get their windows busted for melting down our economy, not to protest the World Bank.
PNC is a smaller regional back that didn't get involved with the risky securities investments and trading that ended up hurting the economy. As a result, it's actually faring better than the other banks that helped bring about the recent economic troubles. Know your facts before you say stupid things.
Those Angry Angry Protesters should eat the rich or bring their own personal belongings to town and burn them in protest of Capitalism.
Just to pile on here, what a bunch of morons. If anyone deserves a beat-down by truncheon-wielding cops, it's these clowns.
I never understand this. It's like blacks rioting and destroying U St. in '68. Why Logan Circle? Why not K st. or Georgetown? I'm not approving that anyone actually do that, it just seems their neighborhood selection was odd.
But you have to remember that us Blacks spared Ben's Chili Bowl and any other store that spray painted a sign that said: SOUL BROTHER or SOUL SISTER on its walls or doors.
If only the bank had placed a Piggy Bank out front. The windows may have been spared. I hope it wasn't a Black that smashed that window cause the police's billy club is going to come down on his Afro wearing head like a watermelon at a Gallagher concert.
I am willing to bet you a month of Whole Foods free range peruvian lima beans that not one was african american. But i still say that if you want to take down The Man, you first need to figure out where The Man lives.
K st. was probably too far to walk however. It WAS hot today.
NewHCE, your point rests on the incorrect assumption that East Dupont is still the home of young and restless hipsters, carrying their bongos to Positive Force rallies by day and playing in bands and waiting tables by night.
But that is so 1989. East Dupont jumped the shark many years ago. Despite the hippie pretensions of Whole Foods, and the "artsy" pretensions of expensive newly-constructed lofts, whose advertising would have you believe that most of their residents are fascinating, creative people, this is a land for the monied, powerful, and well-connected. So their targeting actually made some sense in terms of making themselves heard.
That doesn't mean they're not total **holes, though. It's hard to imagine anyone more addled and less understanding of the issues they claim to care about than the Teabaggers, but these anti globalization types take the cake.
The 1400 block of P hasn't been "East Dupont" since people realized they could market that part of Western Shaw as Logan Circle. Perhaps that was about the 80's. And while the condos may be new, a goodly portion of the homes and older apartments are still inhabited by families that have been there since god was a child.
Alex, im totally busted. I WAS in fact a "restless young hipster" living in that area in 1989. lol (but please dont call it "East Dupont")
You're old. [Beavis and Butthead laughter]
What actual proof, aside from assumption, that these were indeed World Bank/IMF protesters and not just your typical DC hoodlums? Why all the hate for hipsters? With all do respect, I view any information provided to me by any DC cop with great skepticism. Just sayin’……
Your typical DC hoodlum only throws rocks at gays/white people, not windows. For windows, they tend to use that etching spraypaint that costs storeowners thousands to replace.
Also, your typical DC hoodlum rarely hits his target, and tends to leave an E-Z-2-follow trail of Rap Snacks bags, Big Gulp cups, and pina colada blunts, none of which are evident here.
TX2DC, "hipsters" (coffeshopus soccerum) are one of the favorite targets of many of us at DCist. It is mainly driven by an aging commentariat nostalgic for the days of $5 Fugazi concerts.
this is a land for the monied, powerful, and well-connected.
FYI, this is defined as anyone making more than $40k per year.
whatever, the vandals probably live in some ratty group house in columbia heights.
Actually, I'd guess they come from out of town, and likely live with their parents.
Well I guess not that their windows are busted out those banks must cave to anarchy! Success! How will they ever replace those windows, how will they ever operate again! Great job fucking morons.
This reminds me of that time in the fourth grade when the school bully and the fat jerk that nobody liked decided to fight behind the temporary buildings to decide, once and for all, who was the biggest a$$hole. Everybody showed up hoping they'd beat the $h!t out of eachother, but they just ended up yelling then going home. What a f**king disappointment! I missed watching The Banana Splits for this $h!t? WTF?
One protester, two protester, three protester, four.
Four protesters make a riot and so do many more.
Over hill and highway the hipster buggies go
Comin' on to bring you The Trustifarian Show.
Tra la la, la la la la
Interesting. It has been 24 hours since this action and the system has yet to grind to a halt.
that's because the markets are closed 'til Monday! Expect (A)narchy to break out then.
Mommy and Daddy's lawyer from Potomac will get the little darlings off.
I actually was out walking my dog on Saturday around 6:30 AM on 14th and Church and noticed probably about 20 cop cars on 15th Street all surrounding what was obviously an IMF protester. I've lived in DC for over 10 years and know what they look like (early 20s, white, mildly unclean, chip on shoulder for no real reason)...
Anyway, I had no idea why he was being arrested (I knew it was IMF weekend) but also know its all the way down by GW and it was pretty early to be harassing this punk kid. Then, I saw the damage on the end of my walk.
Its obvious these kids aren't the same as the protesters of IMF past. If you're going to smash windows do it in groups larger than 6! And, do it very late, not 6 AM!