An animal rights activist was arrested tonight, April 2, 2009, in Baltimore. He was legally and peacefully protesting the treatment of animals at Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus, which is showing at the 1st Mariner Arena.

Adam Ortberg arrived to join other leafleters in front of the arena, and was met by a plain-clothed police officer who is always seen at Baltimore Ringling shows. The officer told Adam that he was a "marked man" and that if he stepped over an imaginary line that they designated as a "no leaflet zone" (on public sidewalk), that he was going to jail for 18 months. It was obvious Adam was singled out amongst the rest of the activists by these police, as they hadn't said anything at all to any other activist present tonight.

Preparing for the usual infringement upon Baltimore activists' rights, another activist took out her camera phone and began videotaping the scene. One of the plain-clothed cops saw her filming, walked over, and put his camera phone approximately 3 inches in front of her face. This is an obvious violation of police conduct. In an effort to protect the activist, Adam put a leaflet between the activist's face and the cop's camera. At that point, the cop told Adam he had assaulted him. Luckily, the whole incident was filmed, and what the cop claimed was obviously false, as it clearly shows in the footage.

The activist who was filming told the police that there would be yet another lawsuit filed against them for false arrest and harassment. She was then told that if she "kept talking" that she'd be "locked up" as well.

Several activists politely asked the cops for their badge numbers, and all were either completely ignored or rudely declined. All were caught on film.

The video of the incident will be uploaded after clearance from Adam's lawyer, as there will be a false arrest civil suit filed against the officer.

Last Wednesday, another activist, Aaron Ross, was arrested in front of the 1st Mariner Arena, for leafleting at the Ringling Brothers show. He was told he crossed the imaginary line into the "no leafleting zone" (on public sidewalk). As with all of the approximately 20 arrests of Baltimore animal rights activists in the past year, he was released with no charges.

This is what the Baltimore City Police Department likes to refer to as a "walk through," when a person is arrested, taken to booking, processed, and released with no charges. Police succeed in getting protesters away from the scene by giving unlawful orders and then arresting, but then they are not held accountable for the false arrests, as they personally do not have to pay the settlements to the falsely arrested activists.

This is a disgrace to the people of Baltimore. Our tax dollars are paying police to harass and falsely arrest peaceful activists, while the crime rate in Baltimore is outrageous! The murder rate in Baltimore is 5 1/2 times the national average, yet police are wasting time hassling people who are merely handing out leaflets and holding signs for abused circus animals.

Please call Central Booking of Baltimore to request that Adam Ortberg be released in a timely manner, and that he is given vegan food.

Central Booking Phone Numbers:
410-545-8120
410-545-8121
410-545-8128
410-545-8129