March Against Monsanto organizer to face charges for using amplified sound at a park

In an apparent case of an organizer of a major protest being targeted by police, Kristen “Kryssi” Jones, an organizer of the Ann Arbor, Michigan March Against Monsanto, was arrested for using amplified sound in a public park on May 25, 2013.

Jones maintains that she did no such thing and says that fifteen other people used a bullhorn in Hanover Park that day but were neither harassed nor arrested.

The individuals organizing this particular March Against Monsanto protest – one of many across the country and the world – paid around $1,500 for a permit for the protest but were denied the night before it was scheduled.

Yet the arrest was not made due to the lack of a permit and the protest was not shut down by police.

According to Jones, police were asking marchers to identify the organizer of the event. Jones was arrested soon after by three police officers for allegedly using amplified sound in the park.

However, Jones says that she used the bullhorn on the street.

Jones will be appearing on the Anti-Media Radio on UCY.TV Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 11 p.m. EST/8 p.m. PST to discuss the incident.

Others can clearly be seen using amplified sound devices within the park itself while Jones is being arrested.

In the video below the crowd can be heard chanting, “Let her go! Let her go!” as Jones was arrested by Ann Arbor police.

“She was the only one arrested,” wrote Simone Cromer, the individual who uploaded the video of Jones being arrested to YouTube. “About 7 other people used the megaphone before and after her arrest, in full view of the cops who continued to stand around and watch us. Why did they single her out and not arrest anyone else? We’ll never know.”

Another view of the arrest can be seen below:

“After my arrest, the cops sat there through the rest of the protest. Other people used the megaphone and it was no big deal,” Jones said.

“I am thankful no one else got arrested but there were no arrests that needed to be made. Now if I was acting like an ass and not being peaceful, I could understand. That wasn’t the case,” she added.

She was later bailed out by other activists who pitched in to pay the $250 to get her out.

“The police told me I had at least 30 people come to the station to bail me out,” Jones noted.

Another activist at the Ann Arbor march, Paul Swiss, was ticketed for use of an amplified sound device but was not arrested. One other individual was ticketed, according to Jones, but was not identified.

Jones has her arraignment scheduled for June 17, 2013 and the American Civil Liberties Union has agreed to provide help with her civil suit, according to Jones.

For more information on the next March Against Monsanto check out their website and Facebook page.