PROTESTS: Saturday, March 9 On Saturday, March 9th, anti-circus protests were set-up by groups around Maryland. Members of Global Toxin, Animal Awareness, and the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund were on hand to point out the injustices and sufferings caused and maintained by Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus to the animals.

Animal rights activists began arriving around 10 a.m. at this year's location of the circus, the Baltimore Arena. Leaflets were passed out and signs were held as a handful of demonstrators walked around busy corners of the arena. Officers dressed in plain clothes, and officers riding motorcycles and horses were present to make sure everything ran "smoothly." A few officers, in and out of uniform, attempted to divert the protest by saying that the sidewalk was off limits to public activity. However, members of various rights groups in the city disagreed with them. Despite the officers scare tactics the protest continued.

Global Toxin's call to action was for 2:00 p.m., and by 2:30 p.m., nearly 40 activists, some coming with certain activist groups and some coming on their own, had converged at the arena. As the last show began at around 6:30 p.m., most demonstrators had left the area, only a handful remaining from various groups. One activist was arrested around 6:30 p.m. for breaking "The 18-foot Rule," which according to police officers states that you must be 18 feet from the Baltimore Arena to demonstrate. At the days end nearly 2,000 leaflets were passed out, shocking and informative banners and signs were displayed, and friendly conversations were had between passerby and the protesters.

Saturday, March 16 On Saturday, March 16th, most activists arrived around 2 p.m., totaling with about 30. Police used the same tactics, as they were the previous Saturday, arguments, photographs of demonstrators' faces and clothing, and all together bad attitudes toward the protest. The demonstration was mostly the same as the previous Saturday as well, thousands of leaflets passed out and many conversations started, attempting to educate the public about the circus' effect on animals. Most demonstrators left the arena at about 4:30, and called it a victory. One more step toward animal liberation.

POLICE SURVELLANCE: At 10 a.m. on the 9th, 2 Global Toxin activists arrived at the Baltimore Arena, with signs, leaflets, and coffee. 4 men, all white males in their 30s and 40s, were standing by with a video camera and standard cameras. When approached by the 2 members of Global Toxin, the men stated that they were Baltimore County police officers. When asked what they were doing they stated that they were "just checking things out". Baltimore County police officers have no jurisdiction in the city, so it was assumed that these men were simply gathering intelligence on the 2 subjects. After video taping their faces and taking some photos, the 4 men walked down Baltimore Street and disappeared for the day.

It appears that the police were using methods of surveillance to gather info on activists of the left.

As the day went on, undercover cops and what seemed to be undercover detective filled the corner of Park Ave. and Baltimore Street, testing activists on their knowledge of the law, taking photographs and video recordings of them, and questioning them on their political stances, trying to seep information out anyway they could.

The same events occurred on Saturday the 16th, with the lack of Baltimore County police officers.

POLICE MIS-CONDUCT: Several outbreaks of police misconduct broke out on Saturday the 9th, from screaming matches with demonstrators to physical assault.

In the late afternoon, an argument broke out between a demonstrator and an undercover cop who claimed he was not a cop at all. The cop pushed an activist as he took a photo of the officer, claiming he was breaking "the 18-foot law". The demonstrator quickly challenged the law and held his ground. Other demonstrators gathered to see what was going, and the camera in question was passed off to another demonstrator who took another photo of the officer. The officer announced that he was undercover and explained that the demonstrators "could not take his picture"...which is 100 percent lawful. The argument continued with Sergeants, undercover police, uniformed police, and demonstrators for about 2 hours, finally ending in a victory for the demonstrators, and for justice in general. Charges of assault will be pressed against the officer in question.

A little later in the night a demonstrator was arrested for breaking "the 18-foot law", which the cops would not explain to us in definition. An update on his case and his arrest will hopefully be up shortly.

See http://www.globaltoxin.org for more info on the circus, the protests, and photos of the events.

GLOBAL TOXIN