Communist activist arrested in Baker for being loud
Apparently he was trespassing too
Noche Diaz, a an activist from New York, was arrested by the University of Chicago Police department after entering Baker Dinning Commons with a loud group of communist protesters.
Diaz was charged with trespassing because apparently no one had given him a guest swipe.
The UCPD daily incidents report said that at 1am, “unauthorized individual was told by staff member to leave the dining hall but refused to do so. The UCPD officer repeated the order, but individual refused to leave. The suspect was arrested and charged with trespass to land.”
There are several videos of the arrest, taken by students and protesters.
The Revolutionary Communist Party, the group for which these protesters were working, painted a rather more colorful picture of the event.
A revcom article referred to the incident as the “second attack on this national tour, and on Noche Diaz, in 5 days (sic).”
In this same article they repeatedly referred to UCPD officers as “pigs.”
This protest was related to their protest of John Kerry earlier in the day, who they referred to as a “war criminal”, who they apparently didn’t appreciate as a speaker.
The group also had a meeting last night in the basement of Stuart, trying to spread their message to the student body.
A university spokesperson said that they had been asked politely to leave several times before police were called, and that police asked several times for them to leave before making the arrest.
A posted calling for Noche Diaz’s charges to be dropped
There did not appear to be a use of excessive force, but the Revolutionary Communist Party claims an unnamed “young woman” was sent to the hospital as a result of this confrontation.
Discourse is always an important part of the climate here at the University of Chicago, and continuing to consider where and how groups should be allowed to protest is an important part of being a citizen here on campus.
The university appears to be taking no action against the group, as their meeting in Stuart went as scheduled, and protesters were handing out fliers on campus both today and yesterday.