Millions March As Anti-Police Violence Protests Grow In Size & Scope

Millions March
Saturday's Millions March is mobilizing New Yorkers for more protests. Given the scope of previous protests, which shut down traffic on bridges and resulted in "die-ins" at major locations, this is sure to be a moving day of peaceful political action. Earlier this week, Eric Garner's daughter Erica staged a die-in at the site where her father was choked to death by police in Staten Island. There have been, and continue to be, protests against police brutality in Oakland, DC, Boston, London, Dallas, and other cities around the world.

High-Profile Participants
The past few weeks have also seen high-profile protests among congressional staffers, the NBA, and Dave Chappelle and Michael Sam at the GQ Men of the Year event. During a performance later in the week, Chappelle shared a harrowing story of being choked by an officer while filming a movie in New Orleans when he was just a teen.

New Legal Developments
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Ferguson ruled that police officers can't use tear gas on protestors "without declaring an illegal assembly, giving them fair warning and time to vacate the area." Lawyer Brendan Roediger told MSNBC, "Ultimately [the judge] decided there was substantial evidence that police had violated the constitutional rights of the protesters, that it was a restriction on their free speech…The best thing the judge said and she said it a couple of times, was that 'it’s clear to me for some reason the police are treating this group, around this movement, differently than they treat other large crowds.'" This is a temporary restraining order, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the long term when it comes to the use of force against otherwise peaceful protestors.

No St. Nick Needed
In the meantime, December 13 is also SantaCon. The organizers of the terrible bar crawl have announced they're "scaling back their festivities," which are generally reviled by most non-puking New Yorkers, but seem especially grotesque in light of the protests.