Naomi Wolf Arrested at a Occupy Wall Street Protest
Feminist author Naomi Wolf was arrested in New York outside an event that was awarding Gov. Andrew Cuomo. According to The Guardian's account of the incident, there was around 50 Occupy Wall Street protesters who were gathered outside Skylight Studios to demonstrate against Cuomo's opposition to a millionaires tax while he was inside being honored by the Huffington Post with a "Game Changer of the Year Award." The police were apparently trying to keep the sidewalks clear.
There was a dispute with police, who said protesters were blocking the sidewalk. Wolf came and told them they "didn't need a permit for a megaphone." According to another witness, Wolf objected to a police officer's assertion that the group were blocking the street. "Tell it to the judge," the officer is reported to have said.
Update: Via The Nation's Greg Mitchell, Naomi Wolf released a statement on the incident on her Facebook page:
Given the coverage, I feel that I should put on record a nit of what happened, full details in the am. The protesters were being told that they needed to leave the sidewalk outside of the Huffington Post event because 'Huffington Post had a permit' to control the use of the sidewalk. I have a chapter in Give Me Lberty on NYC permits so I knew that could not be accurate. Sidewalks are public spaces and can't be leased by private entities. I asked for a copy of the permit. A spokesman finally acknowledged that the permit allowed for pedestrian access as long as it did not obstruct foot traffic on the sidewalk."
The YouTube video taken below appears to show Wolf and a police officer somewhat civily exchanging words before the officer ended the discussion.
