I-69: Office Demo in Bloomington, one person arrested; Protest in Gary

Around 3:30 p.m. on Friday June 20, in response to the eviction of the tree-sit along the proposed route of I-69 and the reckless and dangerous arrest of the tree-sitters and their supporters, opponents of the highway converged upon the I-69 planning office in downtown Bloomington, Indiana. Armed only with whistles, signs, and shouts of rage, these opponents of the interstate raised a ruckus in the lobby, chanting “I-69, shut it down! Michael J. Baker out of our town!” Michael J. Baker is the company that oversees the planning of Section 5 of I-69, and has an office in the One City Center building in Bloomington. The office has been closed recently due to “illness”.
Several employees from other offices in the building tried to photograph the protesters, and one businessman walked outside and blocked the doors in an attempt to keep the protesters inside until police arrived. The protesters managed to escape, but one person was tackled outside by the plainclothes Detective Cody Forston. Cody Forston handcuffed and pinned him on the ground until the police arrived in a convoy of three cars. The arrested man was charged with battery and domestic disturbance, although the charge of domestic disturbance was dropped. One copwatcher with a camcorder recorded the arrest.

Since the eviction of the tree sit, activists throughout Southern Indiana have been increasingly followed and hassled by local and state police, and possibly other agencies. Clearly, the forces of capital, law, and order are trying to quench the growing resistance to their destructive projects. But as one banner dropped on Saturday in Bloomington said, “Repression breeds Resistance”. Nothing the state can do to us will destroy our love for this land and our communities and our rage at those who would pave over them.

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Solidarity Demo at Department of Transportation following I-69 Evictions

In solidarity with the recent tree evictees, a group of Northwest Indiana protesters visited the INDOT subdistrict of Gary, Indiana. The office is conveniently located on an industrial strip close to the area's largest steel mills.

They marched into the office holding signs and playing homemade instruments. The office workers looked up from thier work unamused, and slightly confused. Chanting "Don't arrest our friends, don't cut down our trees, Evansville solidarity" they questioned the workers about their level of awareness. Not one of them knew anything of the road. INDOT has tried to keep anything about I-69 and it's resistors under a shroud of secrecy and lies, even to it's own employees.

As the group was being escorted out of the building, the workers seemed sympathetic to the news of forced evictions and wildlife destruction, but they ultimately complied with the policies of their employers. They were not mean, or stupid, they just didn't know. Like most people outside of certain progressive, radical, or otherwise academic circles, they have had no access to information regarding the potential losses' of Indiana residents. They do not know the personal, much less the global implications of this particular leg of infrastructure. As this struggle is carried on more people will become aware of the scope of the outcome, and those that profit from this pillaging of the people will be exposed for thier motivations, deceptions, and outright lies. They cannot come in like the Gestapo, in the wee hours of the morning to one location to shut us up. We are everywhere.