ARRESTED ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AT PROTEST AGAINST MAXMARA (USA)

Friendship Heights MD- Between 2:45 and 3pm today an animal rights organization was exercising their rights to free speech on a public sidewalk as a protest against Max Mara 5471-F Wisconsin Avenue, when police officers asked for the use of a bullhorn to be stopped, saying "You're outta here."

The activist then complied with the police officer's request, and continued the chanting without the bullhorn.

Without any warning the activist was then grabbed by 2 police officers and put under arrest.

The arrest was witnessed by this reporter as overtly aggressive with brutal force used completely unnecessarily.

During the situation, once again, MD police tried to threaten persons who were trying to record the situation, telling them that video "with voice recording" or just voice recording was illegal without their permission under MD law.

The activist was then taken away and is still in custody as far as we know.

Fur protests on Dec 7 ran into extreme police demands in Montgomery County, not limited to the "Your're outta here" leading to the unlawful arrest.

Police orders not to videotape them in the arrest (claiming recording police oficer's voices is illegal in MD) were NOT complied with, but cops didn't try to make arrests for that, only jabbered noisily.

The protests began at Sak's 5th Ave, then moved down Wisconsin Ave to Maxmara, which faces a global campaign against them for selling fur. Finally, protesters crossed the DC line, losing the MoCo cops, to protest Neiman-Marcus's continued sale of fur.

Based on: DC Indymedia