On February 11, 2012, Occupy Denver gathered at the Sheraton Hotel (16th and Court Place) to protest the 79th Annual Jefferson Jackson Dinner to hold a “no confidence” rally to make a political statement that both political parties are failing the American people. In protest of the dinner having plates from $125 a ticket to $2500 for a table, Occupy Denver was supported by The Thunderdome, who gave out free food during the protest.
At around 5:00 p.m. parts of the 16th St. Mall were blocked by police cars surrounding Occupy Denver’s gathering of around 70 people. The Thunderdome arrived at 5:25 p.m. and had a tray of fresh vegetables and kabobs for anyone passing by the Sheraton Hotel or walking on 16th St. Mall. More police arrived at 5:35 armed with pepper bomb rifles.
One protester who stuck out was a women dressed in white holding a sign protesting the newly passed National Defense Authorization Act that stated, “I’m Not a Terrorist.” At 6:00 p.m. many more police arrived to the protest and Occupy Denver moved in front of the Sheraton. The scene was symbolic to social class because the protesters were surrounded by police and chanting “We are the 99%” while dinner party guests looked down from the 2nd floor of the Sheraton with their cocktail glasses.
Towards the end of the night Occupy Denver marched down Broadway and ended where Occupy Denver began in Lincoln Park. There was no violence during the protest by protesters or police; in addition, no one was arrested.
Below is a statement from Occupy Denver, prior to the protest:
In the wake of brutal repression of Occupies across america, the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act, the militarization of the US police force and the growing rich and poor gap it has become obvious that the government is ready to go to war with its own people. Obama, the Democrats and their “get out the vote” organizations are using the language of the Occupy movement for their own ends while ignoring the brutality that Occupiers have endured by the state that claims to protect them. Our government cheered on protestors in Egypt, Libya, Syria, and across Eastern Europe. When those same protests erupted in the US they slandered us in the mainstream media, threw provocateurs into our midst to disrupt our activities and attacked us brutally, repeatedly. What we are seeing in the US is a modern reincarnation of the same social movements that got us the 8 hour work day, minimum wage, and civil rights, and our government is engaging in business as usual. We will not stand for the phony populism on display in Washington DC. We are not fighting for a few token gestures so we can all go home and feel good, we are engaging in a ruthless criticism of everything. Today less than 1% controls the wealth and thus the politics in this country, much of it facilitated by dinners like these.
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