FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, December 30, 2017
[PDF of this press release available to download HERE]

Backbone Campaign and NYC allies stage “The Citizen’s Arrest of Donald Trump” outside Trump’s residence in Midtown Manhattan with large scale puppeteer visuals.

Media Contacts:

Jo Walter, Backbone Campaign 
National Citizens Arrest Project Lead
(360) 551-6944
[email protected]

Kim Fraczek
Co-Founder People’s Puppets
(646) 376-3180 [email protected]

NYPD lend a hand.  Photo courtesy of Erik McGregor [More video and photo links below]

This afternoon, dozens of activists gathered in midtown Manhattan to demand the United States impeach and remove President Donald Trump and set a national standard for leadership and accountability. They are acting on account of twelve points of Trump’s impeachable offenses:

1. Violations of Foreign and Domestic Emoluments
2. Incitement of Hate Speech and violence within the U.S.
3. Voter intimidation and lying about election fraud
4. Disregard for truth and pathological lying
5. Violating Freedom of Religion with Muslim Bans
6. Environmental destruction and dismantling protections for air and water
7. Criminally negligent climate denial and violation of Paris Climate Treaty
8. Illegal and reckless threats of war and nuclear weaponry
9. Sexual assault and normalizing rape culture
10. Popularizing xenophobia and pardoning Joe Arpaio
11. Politically incompetent and unable to discharge the power and duties of the office
12. Lawless imprisonment, violation of Posse Comitatus and Warrantless Spying

Seattle-based organization, Backbone Campaign, teamed up with several New York City based advocacy groups for the action. The event marks a kickoff to a larger nationwide tour of the centerpiece of this action: A giant Donald Trump hand-sculpted puppet head that taunts the crowd and eventually ends up in a large-scale “Citizen’s Arrest of Donald Trump”.

A group of people gathered at Central Park SE to take pictures with the Trump head along with their messages to be tweeted “@” the President since this seems to be how he prefers to communicate with the country.  The crowd pursued him chanting “Lock him up!” fended off by his “police escorts”.  At Trump Tower one of the children participating enacted the arrest by slapping cuffs on Trump.  The NYPD promptly escorted “arrested Trump” away from Trump Tower.

“This is to build momentum around the impeachment movement around the country. The positive feedback from everyone that was involved today, let us know this is something that the people support and are hungry for. We are looking forward to continuing this action in multiple cities across the USA”, states Phil Ateto, the Solidarity Brigade Coordinator for Backbone Campaign.

Local IT Program Manager and Radical Videographer, Owen Crowley, expresses his reasons for showing up today, “I came to demonstrate that sovereignty derives from the people. Mueller will not save us. We need to save Mueller, because he can only be effective when the people govern and the institutions of government are strong.”

Bill Moyer, the Backbone Campaign’s  Executive Director and co-founder said of the overall action, “Humor and ridicule of tyrants is a timeless tradition we are proud to be part of.  Our grave concerns mount as the stage is being set for the Predator-in-Chief Donald Trump to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trump’s profane buffoonery and criminal incompetence are an insult to rights and protections people have fought and died for abroad and at home in the social movements that have improved our society. Backbone Campaign is resolved to stand with our allies across the country in staunch defense of the shared aspiration for a real and just democracy -  and -  in principled, courageous resistance to the nightmare of dictatorship that Trump’s demagoguery is leading our country toward.”

Citizen’s Arrest Actions are scheduled for Los Angeles, Boston, DC, San Diego, and many other cities, joining in with the effort to Impeach! Indict! and Imprison! Donald Trump.  More information about the Citizens with Backbone project can be found at BackboneCampaign.org/trump

If you share our New Year's resolution to see Trump impeached, help build momentum for that aspiration HERE.

Many more photos of this action by Erik McGregor on Flickr.

Passers by took photos with personalized message and #ImpeachTrump hashtag on whiteboard. Photo courtesy of Erik McGregor.

Comic coppers make the arrest at Trump Tower. Photo courtesy of Erik McGregor.

Backbone organizer Phil Ateto celebrates after successful Citizen's Arrest. Photo courtesy of Erik McGregor.