The Protestors' Diary: Farnam Street bridge - a Melee special report

Over 100 people were detained in a mass arrest in Omaha, Nebraska last weekend while professing Justice for James Scurlock and solidarity with the Protests in Portland. It is believed the mass arrest violated state law, and the violent treatment protesters say they experienced at the hands of police raises bigger questions of civil rights violations. Hear what the protesters experienced in their own words in The Protestors' Diary: Farnam Street Bridge.

NOISE is collaborating with Hi Omaha and Figure Podcasts to bring you the Melee Community News show, but this is a special breakout episode as a response to the mass arrests made on the Farnam Street Bridge on the 25th and 26th of July, where over 100 citizens were arrested because, as it was cited in the Omaha World-Herald, the gathering quote, “Leaned toward the potential of getting violent”. Up to five were arrested for quote, “suspicion of resisting arrest.”

As of this recording, July 29, 2020, the Omaha Police Department maintains that quote, “the assembly was unlawful" and "at least 10 clearly audible warnings were given to the group” via Facebook post from the department’s official page.

Also as of this date, the ACLU of Nebraska says that state law was violated by the issuing of mass arrests instead of citations.

As a direct response to the limited representation of the protesters’ perspectives in much of the local media that night, We present to you, the Protesters’ Diary, Farnam Street Bridge…This is a collection of audio diary entries from protesters, medics and a legal observer who were on the Farnam Street Bridge the night of July 25th, 2020. These are their experiences as they remember them, and are not edited in any way.