How I was arrested
By David Cobb

David Cobb, center, marching in St. Louis.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Walling / Illinois Green Party

On Friday October 8, at 8:32 p.m., I was arrested in St. Louis at the second of two corporate-sponsored presidential debates. Though I was the presidential candidate of the Green Party, the fastest-growing political party in the U.S., I had not been invited to participate in the debate. Even my request for a ticket to attend as an observer was ignored.

I was in St. Louis to protest the exclusion from the debates of all voices of dissent in this time of military adventurism abroad and war on free speech and civil liberties at home. The three debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates were restricted, scripted and staged events which utterly failed to perform the vital function of informing the American people about the choices they have in a presidential election. Regardless of their rhetoric, the reality was that both of the duopoly candidates were calling for "more of the same" when it came to Iraq. The Green Party and I call for supporting our troops by bringing them home and out of harm's way as soon as they can be transported. Interestingly enough, three other presidential candidates--all of whom had also been excluded from the corporate debates--shared this position.

Many of the greatest struggles of our time have been achieved through nonviolent civil disobedience. It is a distinguished form of protest and dissent which was used successfully by Rosa Parks, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., among others. Now we are engaged in another epic struggle, a battle for the heart and soul of our democracy. These so-called "debates" were an insult to democracy and the American people. As a representative of the Green Party, I had an obligation to try to open them up to more voices.

Throughout my campaign for the Green Party's presidential nomination I had expressed my willingness to use nonviolent civil disobedience, if necessary, to gain entry to the restricted debates or be arrested in the process.

In St. Louis that night, I joined a great crowd of hundreds of protesters. They were spirited, peaceful, joyous and yet insistent that the system must change to embrace democracy with more choices and more voices. The protesters weren't only Green; they came from across the political spectrum, including Libertarians, Socialists and folks from the ABB crowd. I was proud to be participating with them. Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik decided to work with us, and he and I were, in fact, arrested together for the civil disobedience of trying to enter the debate.

Police arrested Cobb and Badnarik at the debate.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Walling / Illinois Green Party

Though a number of people from our campaign and other Green Party members had worked diligently to ensure a smooth arrest--if ever such a thing exists--events did not turn out as we had planned. My staff had consulted with the county police, but the city police wound up guarding the debate entrance. When I showed up to demand entry, these city police had never heard of me, and I had to push my way through a line of police in riot gear to gain entry. I was promptly arrested, but not before a number of police converged on me with their shields, which they used as offensive weapons. Some of the police seemed to enjoy hitting me; others seemed to be mortified.

At this time Badnarik and I were surrounded by over a dozen members of the media: cameras, photographers and reporters. Although the AP and a number of local papers and websites carried the news of my civil disobedience and subsequent arrest, the national media were silent. Apparently the corporate media decides for the people what is important, and the arrest of two presidential candidates trying to exercise their rights to free speech didn't qualify. It was one more example of how the corporate-owned media manufactures consent.

Following my arrest I was transported to jail, where I was subjected to and witnessed the typical dehumanizing treatment that detainees suffer at the hands of their jailers. I spent several hours in jail before I was released, after midnight.

Though I was exhausted, I was also exhilarated. Every time I engage in nonviolent civil disobedience against an oppressive government, I revel in the power that We the People actually have. If we the people engaged in civil disobedience more often, we could change the oppressive power structures much more quickly.

They charged me with trespassing on private property and failure to obey a reasonable order, but you and I know that the real crime is the corporate hijacking of our democracy. That's what I went to St. Louis to protest.

David Cobb was the Green Party's presidential candidate. Visit his campaign website, www.votecobb.org, for more information.