{"id":421,"date":"2015-11-02T13:38:12","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T18:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.350.org\/climatewelcome\/?p=421"},"modified":"2015-11-02T13:39:53","modified_gmt":"2015-11-02T18:39:53","slug":"when-getting-arrested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.350.org\/climatewelcome\/when-getting-arrested\/","title":{"rendered":"What to expect when you’re getting arrested"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Patricia\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Patricia Warwick is certainly a committed member of the climate justice community. Last year, she participated in the People’s Climate March in spite of a broken arm, in 2010, she braved a long bus ride to Cancun, Mexico, for COP 16, and in 2011, she risked arrest twice to demand action on the tar sands.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first time, it was in Washington DC for the historical Tar Sands Action when hundreds of people staged sit-ins in front of the White House calling upon President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. “My friends didn’t know what I was doing until they saw me on the news,” she remembers with a chuckle, “Not until CBC news reported that a 68 year old Canadian woman was arrested at the White House.” The second time, it was closer to home — when hundreds risked arrest at Parliament Hill in Ottawa to demand an end to tar sands expansion. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Patricia’s planning to make another trip to Ottawa for the Climate Welcome action at 24 Sussex Drive. She fears that this government, just like the past one, is \u201cunder the thumb of the oil industry.\u201d However, she also knows that there\u2019s nothing quite as powerful as a determined group of people putting their bodies on the line to send a collective message — as someone who voted Liberal in the election, she believes that Prime Minister Trudeau has good intentions, but he won\u2019t take action unless he\u2019s pushed. <\/span><\/p>\n

You might call her something of a pro when it comes to staging bold actions demanding climate justice — and she has some insights to share about what it’s like.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a sunny September day in Ottawa four years ago when she joined dozens of others for a sit-in on the lawns of Parliament Hill. Many of the participants weren\u2019t prepared for the heat but had a long wait ahead of them. So Patricia\u2019s first words of advice: dress for the weather because it\u2019s going to be a long day. <\/span><\/p>\n

Patricia recalls waiting quite a while even once the arrests started, with police arresting one or two participants at a time. When it was her turn, she was handcuffed and taken to an on-site police tent that was by the canal, close to Parliament Hill. At the tent, they took her picture, took her fingerprints and issued a trespassing fine for about $80 that had to be paid at a later date — much like a parking ticket. Once enough people had been processed at the tent, they were loaded onto a van, taken to Park Street, and as Patricia so casually put it, dumped off on the side of the road. <\/span><\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t have phones with them — or any sort of valuables because in a civil disobedience action, participants face the risk of having all items they are carrying being confiscated. So it was a bit challenging to find their friends again after they had been dropped off — but a clear pre-action briefing which had identified an a post-arrest meeting spot helped them reconvene.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the beginning of the actions, all participants wrote out legal support phone numbers on their arm in case they needed them. \u201cBut one thing they don\u2019t warn you,\u201d Patricia warns \u201cis that if you sweat, the number\u2019s no longer legible!\u201d This was the case for Patricia in Ottawa due to the heat and in DC, due to the nervousness of risking arrest for the first time. In November, of course, there\u2019s less of a chance this will happen! <\/span><\/p>\n

Patricia remembers being highly anxious at the Washington DC sit ins. At that particular action, the participants on day one were arrested and kept overnight as what she calls an \u201cintimidation tactic.\u201d As a participant on the second day, she wasn\u2019t quite too sure what to expect. In the end, her batch was arrested, taken to an off site police office and released almost immediately after being processed. <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re expecting the sit ins at 24 Sussex Drive to go down similarly to the ones in Ottawa in 2011 here\u2019s what we expect your experience at the action to look like: <\/span><\/p>\n