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SAN FRANCISCO -- Commuters were recovering their hearing and
BART was reopening stations Friday morning after spoon-clanging
protesters swarmed three stations in downtown San Francisco.

As of 9:30 a.m. BART's Powell Street, Embarcadero and Montgomery
stationswere open, BART officials said.

About 200 protesters gathered at 7 a.m. at the BART Montgomery
station in San Francisco, banging metal spoons on train cars and
poles, and later moved to the Embarcadero and Powell Street
stations.

Two people were arrested during the protest for interfereing
with rail transit, according to BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost,
one male for kicking a train window and a female for blocking
train car door. No injuries were reported.

When the protest began, BART announced that trains would not be
stopping at the Montgomery station and later closed the
Embarcadero and Powells stations when the protesters showed up
there as well. Based on the presence of protesters at any given
station, BART fluctuated its service the three stations.

George Cammarota, 63, of San Jose, said he got to the Montgomery
station at 6:30 a.m. "I'm here to support the movement. To stand
up to police violence. To let people know black lives matter."

However, some commuters opposed the protest. James Pounders, 59,
of San Franicisco's Tenderloin neighborhood said, "We should
protest, but we should do so legally. It's illegal to stop
trains."

Pounders held a sign that read, "There are consequences when you
break the law. Respect the law". He said one protester booed
him. Someone else thanked him.

Organizers said they want to draw attention to penalties sought
against protesters who shut down BART service in Oakland in
November.

Protesters want charges dismissed against 14 people who blocked
train doors on Black Friday in November, shutting down Transbay
service for three hours. The 14 were arrested on one misdemeanor
charge each after chaining themselves to a train at the West
Oakland BART station.

The protest was one of many in the Bay Area after grand juries
in Missouri and New York declined to indict police officers in
the deaths of unarmed black men. Protesters and their supporters
heavily criticized BART officials after it was reported that
they could be asked to pay up to $5,000 each as restitution for
the November transit shutdown.

A Facebook page for the protest that was up earlier this week
demanded that all charges be dropped against the November
protesters, that the BART police force be disbanded and that
discounted BART tickets be offered to low-income riders.

On Thursday the page was temporarily removed but the protest
continued to be advertised on other social media including
Twitter.

Rebecca Parr contributed to this report. Contact Natalie Neysa
Alund at 510-293-2469.

Comments:

Gina Genochio o 3 hours ago
Protest 'police brutality' by banging SPOONS on ... BART cars??
How militantly yuppie ....
2 o ReplyoShare c

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blastedcomputer Gina Genochio o 2 hours ago
I think a counter protest against 'spoon abuse' would be most
apropos. Who will join me?
1 o ReplyoShare c Show 1 new reply

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Wally Wilson o 3 hours ago
Why do we want to bring BART to San Jose? Much easier to
drive...use the money and improve the highways and parking
structures. One less thing to worry about.
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RevrndWilly Wally Wilson o 2 hours ago
oh come on Wally. these hippies aren't gonna go all the way to
the end of the line way out there in Hooterville to bang spoons.
How much trouble would it cause to shut down the Berryessa
station that no one is gonna use anyway?
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almundayy58 o 3 hours ago
what did this group prove??? when you stop BART like that how
many people were late to work, school, appointments....I was
just amazed what this protest is about...UGH....I wonder how
many of these people were paid protestors....their energy could
be better used to protest and/or improve the quality of life for
the unemployed, homeless, hungry....
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Anita Ho o 3 hours ago
What a bunch of pathetic losers...

http://www.mercurynews.com/spotlight/ci_27333150/bart-commuters- brace-protest-at-sf-montgomery-station?source=top_stories_bar

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