Author Naomi Wolf was arrested last night after she joined Occupy Wall Street protesters outside a Skylight Soho event that she was covering for The Huffington Post.
Animal NY explained in a blog post: “They were protesting Governor Cuomo’s refusal to extend NY’s ‘Millionaires Tax.’ Noticing the crowd that had assembled across the street, she challenged the NYPD’s claim that people can’t march in front.”
Wolf described the moments before her arrest in a Guardian essay: “[I] returned to the protesters, and said: ‘The permit allows us to walk on the other side of the street if we don’t block access. I am now going to walk on the public sidewalk and not block it. It is legal to do so. Please join me if you wish.’ My partner and I then returned to the event-side sidewalk and began to walk peacefully arm in arm, while about 30 or 40 people walked with us in single file, not blocking access.”
After the police warned her various times that she would be arrested for obstructing the sidewalk, she was ultimately arrested. (YouTube user Nottooshallow captured the scene with a camera and posted it on YouTube. We have embedded the video above).
Wolf has already been released from custody, and defended her actions on Twitter: “I have been released from custody. I was completely complying with the law and the permit as it was described to me by police and I was arrested for standing lawfully on the sidewalk. I will post more tomorrow. Thank you for your messages of support.”