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"Catch & Release"
by Nathan Adler
7/16/2010 12:11:00 PM
Jail experience harrowing
by Skylar Radojkovic, Owen Sound Sun Times
7/13/2010
Bad News at Bancroft Avenue
by Dylan C. Robertson
7/13/2010
Arrested And Jailed In Toronto – A G20 Protestor’s Firsthand Account
by Sarah Pruyn
7/7/2010
Of my illegal detention (with 899 others) and the G20 protests
by Ben Powless, Organizer, Defenders of the Land
7/5/2010
Independent Journalist, Daniel Adam MacIsaac
by Ali Mustafa
7/5/2010
Ashamed
by Tracey Cox
7/3/2010
"The story of my unjust arrest" - Lacy MacAuley
by Lacy MacAuley
7/1/2010 10:32:00 PM
Without provocation, they attacked our peaceful protest”
by Adrian Naylor
7/1/2010
One woman held by police 'didn't even know what the G20 was'
by Alison Hendersen
7/1/2010
“They were going to release us until this one cop came and saw that we had the legal number written on our arms. She then said that we were elegible for arrest.”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“several police officers lining the west side of the street had removed their names and badge numbers”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“they were detaining me until I told them where I was staying in Toronto”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“They demanded identification and searches of bags and persons, without cause, and under the threat of physical violence, detention and legal action”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“I was beat roughly 20 times with batons”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“blood poured out of his head, down his face and on to my friends jacket, dripping on my pants”
by Bethany Horne
7/1/2010
Queen & John Eyewitness Report
by Emily B.
7/1/2010
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by James
7/1/2010
“I cannot stress this enough: it was a completely peaceful protest. People were being arrested in a brutal, violent, and seemingly random way.”
by Johanna Lewis
7/1/2010
“I was there as a monitor for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. . . like many others, I was never given an opportunity to remove myself from the intersection”
by Julia Croome
7/1/2010
“It is important to note the horrid conditions in the jail. The cells, which were over-glorified dog cages, were often over-crowded.”
by Maximilian Pacheco
7/1/2010
“I have been having nightmares”
by Natasha Borris
7/1/2010
“At no time during the detention was anyone in my cage allowed to speak with a lawyer”
by Philip Boyle
7/1/2010
“police said they had the right to conduct these searches”
by Robert Bertuzzi
7/1/2010
what happened last night at queen and spadina g20
by Rodrigo Bravo
7/1/2010
Violence on Toronto streets for G20
by Ryan Bolton
7/1/2010
“Five officers grabbed me, hit me repeatedly with batons and fists, threw me to the concrete, crushed knees into my cheek bone, back and thighs, dragged me on the pavement and put handcuffs on me”.
by Seamus Wolfe
7/1/2010
“I couldn’t sleep last night. I took the day off work, I’m so upset”
by Sherry B. Good
7/1/2010
“I saw many injured detainees with arms in slings and faces bruised and swollen being led quickly with their ankles chained”
by Taiva Tegler
7/1/2010
“In a matter of seconds, without warning, we were trapped. Our questions were met with blank stares, our panic with more pushing, complaints with arrest”
by Terra Dafoe
7/1/2010
“we were staging a peaceful protest when riot police surrounded us on all sides and would not let us leave”
by Trevor Grant
7/1/2010
Of a million G20 stories in this taken city, this was mine
If anything, there was less black being worn on Queen than usual
by Tabatha Southey
7/1/2010
Personal Experience
by Greg Stones
7/1/2010
'Unlawful Assembly'
by Syl Grady
7/1/2010
untitled
by Karen Nickel
7/1/2010
untitled
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
Mourning Canadian democracy
by Roberta McQuade
7/1/2010
untitled
by Kiel Widmeyer
7/1/2010
In His Own Words (Interview Transcript)
by Jesse Rosenfeld
7/1/2010
untitled
by Neil Stanton
7/1/2010
Singer Marc Mysterio caught in Toronto riots during video shoot
by Marc Mysterio
7/1/2010
Thorold, Ontario Amputee Has His Artificial Leg Ripped Off By Police And Is Slammed In Makeshift Cell During G20 Summit – At Least One Ontario MPP Calls The Whole Episode “Shocking”
by John Pruyn
7/1/2010
How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, Canada
by Tommy Taylor
note: photos/videos are not included in this but all text is original. To read this story with images, please click on 'Source' above
7/1/2010
Man and family being picked up from work brutality attacked by police
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
and this time, it won't be me.
by A Canadian Serviceman
7/1/2010
Fear and mayhem in Toronto
by Lawrence McCurry
7/1/2010
My Experience
by Jesse Miller
7/1/2010
Inside Torontanamo
by Matt Shultz
7/1/2010
Beaten by police before being arrested
by Andrew Stakhov
7/1/2010
Don't breathe or I'll kill you
by Facebook User: Drew Ferguson
7/1/2010
“I was held for 21 hours for peacefully protesting.”
by Marc Gleeson
6/30/2010
Thugs take over Queen's Park
by Matthew Webb
6/29/2010 10:08:00 AM
How I Ended Up In A G20 Jail
by Michael Talbot
6/29/2010
Union Station Washroom
by Andrei Poliakov
6/28/2010 5:30:00 PM
I was just harassed by Toronto Police
by Mike Brock, Western Standard
6/28/2010
Sonia's Story
by Sonia Zawitkowski
6/27/2010
Luke's Story
by Luke Keeler
6/27/2010
Someone call 911!
by Eda Martinovic
6/27/2010
Selwyn arrested at G20 protest
by Selwyn Firth, Mayoral Candidate
6/27/2010
Civil Rights, Interrupted: A G20 Arrest
by Mark Donald
6/26/2010
My Story - Help ID This Criminal!
by Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy
6/26/2010
Pre-G20 Atrocities
by Sean Salvati
6/23/2010
Eye Witness Accounts
Violence on Toronto streets for G20
by: Ryan Bolton
source
Yesterday's G20 riots in Toronto were chaotic, to say the least. "I can't believe I was just tear gassed," Nadim Fetaih, 22, tells me after being pepper sprayed by riot police at Queen's Park. "This is Toronto. This is Canada. This shouldn't be happening." Nadim, his sister, Sherbuk, 27, were both pepper sprayed during the standoff at College and University, where hundreds of protesters were cornered off by hundreds of riot police, some on horseback, all in full riot gear. Some two hours earlier a peaceful G20 protest turned into a riot. The thousand-strong protest that in Queen's Park yesterday quickly degraded when the notorious anarchists, using the black bloc technique of absolute destruction, congregated and discarded their black clothing. It is a day that will go down in Toronto's history. A day where over 400 people were arrested in Toronto's streets. I followed the G20 protests yesterday from the peaceful, women-led beginnings in the early afternoon onwards until 11 p.m. I walked alongside thousands of protesters from myriad groups down University Ave. I listened as they chanted in unison, "Tell me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like!" And then I ran behind the reported black bloc as they terrorized Queen and Yonge streets, smashing storefront windows and CBC vans. I watched as they lit two police cars on fire at King and Bay Street. I questioned where police were during these two hours of all-out demolition. I watched riot police squeeze us into small sections at Queen's Park and physically beat others that wouldn't comply. (This was the case for Matthew King, 23, who after talking with me, was chased by plain clothed officers and hit with batons after he wouldn't pick up his pop can.) I watched when rubber bullets (or bean bags) were shot into crowds. And I witnessed when small, individual canisters of mace were deployed, albeit not the reported tear gas. I watched as horseback police officers ran at the crowd in "stun squads." I watched when Toronto became saddened by what it was watching. And I listened as Wayne Adam, 45, said: "It's hard to believe this is Toronto." I recently published a feature article in Spacing magazine's spring issue about the past decade of protests in Toronto. How far Toronto has come from the notorious OCAP protests in 2000 at Queen's Park, where Molotov cocktails were hurled. To the peaceful, thousands-strong anti-prorogue protest this past January at Dundas Square. I was wrong that Toronto is finished with its violent, police-clashing protests. At least a few aren't finished, anyway. But let me clear the air. This wasn't all of Toronto. As I watched, followed, and, at times, hid from yesterday's protests, the destruction was done by approximately 60 members using black bloc tactics, donning full black get-ups, including black bandannas covering their faces. And they were violent towards anyone taking photos, especially members of the press. They would run, brandishing bricks and large sticks, smashing windows - first Starbucks and banks, and then any storefront along Yonge Street, including American Apparel, McDonald's, Urban Outfitters and Bell. G20 riots torontoThey spray painted walls with slogans like, "Bomb the banks." They surrounded and jumped on top of police cars before lighting them on fire. (Four cop cruisers in total.) And after making it back to Queen's Park, after they trashed another unmarked police van, they shed their black clothing and disappeared into the rest of the protesters. All this time, it should be noted, there was no police presence. None. For about two hours from around 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. police didn't stop the anarchists running wild through Toronto's streets. It wasn't until protesters got back to Queen's Park that security forces started to cut off the protesters on all sides by slowly advancing riot police. By this time, however, the destruction-wreaking individuals were in plain clothes. g20 riots torontoAt this point, the riot police were merciless. If you came about five feet to the wall of police - all with riot helmets, batons and shields - they would yell at you to get back. If you didn't, which I witnessed on at least six occasions, they would swoop in on you, strike you with their batons, and pull you behind police lines. These take-downs are sudden and violent things to witness. You wouldn't see the individuals again. This all occurred in the supposed protest-permitted area of Queen's Park, delegated specifically for protests, for freedom of speech. This wasn't the case. Eventually the police were able to move the protesters up to the Ontario Legislature building, dividing them into four sections. From there, they had horses run at protesters to disperse them. On the flanks, police, typically lined three deep, would stand their ground, occasionally beating their batons off their shields. This continued for about three hours until 8 p.m. when I left for another breaking protest. g20 protest torontoI continued following the protests then on Yonge Street. Seemingly ad hoc, over 1,000 protesters made their way to the G20 fence, chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets!" and "To the fence!" Of no specific individual group, they moved quickly and peacefully until they made it to the fence at Bay St. There, police once again surrounded the protesters on King St., between Bay and York streets. Some more rubber bullets were fired, but protesters had a sit-in until the officers on Bay Street retreated, letting them through. The protesters at this point continued to wind through the financial district until a smaller group made it to the Novotel hotel, where another confrontation took place. At this point, the protesters had lessened to around 150. The streets, as I left them, were riddled with roaming police officers in full riot gear. It all started as a peaceful rally in Queen's Park where even children were in attendance. Thousands marched, chanting as they snaked down University to Queen St., waving their placards. And then chaos broke out when splinter groups using black bloc tactics wreaked havoc on the city. Four cop cars destroyed. A plethora of storefront windows smashed. Banks graffiti-laden with anti-capitalism slogans. Some 400 arrested. And, there's more to come today.