29 July 2016

Large Crowd Staged a Sit-In At the DNC Rally

Walkout at DNC Rally
A few days ago, when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders moved to suspend the rules to nominate Hillary Clinton as the presidential candidate at the Democratic National Convention, a large group of his supporters walked out of the Wells Fargo Arena, marched into the media tent, and staged a sit-in for over an hour.

Numerous news outlets are reporting that the crowd inside the tent was well over 100, though police could not provide an estimate when asked by reporters covering the event. Even after police quickly shut off access to the media tents - which are only open to press - the crowd outside swelled with protesters who held up pro-Bernie signs and banners.

Inside the tent, many of the protesters were seated, holding hands, with masked tape over their mouths that read "No Voice" in black letters. In addition to signs supporting Bernie Sanders, protesters held up signs promoting Palestinian rights, protesting the Trans-Pacific Partnershp, and criticizing Hillary Clinton.

Annie Naranjo-Rivera, 31, a Sanders delegate from Oregon, was one of the few protesters giving interviews to the media. "After the vote, everybody peacefully walked out of the building," Naranjo-Rivera said, describing the protest. Bernie delegates and supporters met and decided to march to the media tent "quietly" and "respectfully," she added. "We're not doing anything wrong. We're showing that we're upset with the way things went. We came in here and then we all had a seat," she said.

"This is what happens when the process isn't fair and when that isn't addressed. People are walking around with their mouths gagged and taped to represent the voices that have been suppressed in this election," she said, explaining that the tape represents "voices that have been silenced," including constituents represented by the delegates.

"Depending on where you are from, we represent a lot of people. And a lot of those people will never vote for Hillary Clinton and they don't feel like their voices have been heard, so that's what some of this represents," she continued.