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Friday, March 2, 2012

Homeless / City Hall City Hall Camping Protest Organizer Arrested

Posted by Denis C. Theriault on Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 5:13 PM

The Kernel!
  • The Kernel!
Remember Kernel Loose-Nut? He's the fellow I wrote about a few weeks ago, the organizer behind the anti-camping-ban vigil at Portland City Hall (complete with a religious tent!) that's heading into its fourth month

He called me this afternoon to say he'd been arrested last night outside city hall, after he joined a separate protest that's been happening, on and off, along the curb on SW 4th Street—a group of people who'd been showing up to sleep in blankets in what's known as the sidewalk's "free speech zone."

What happened? Some of those protesters had started sleeping on wooden palettes to escape the cold, wet concrete, and the city didn't like that. Cops started warning folks that the palettes would be considered structures, and that anyone sleeping on them would risk arrest. The Kernel got the call late last night.

"I decided that it was something I was willing to take a stand, or a nap, on, and I was arrested," says the Kernel, who also goes by Moses Wrosen. "It seemed like the right time. I beat feet downtown and they woke me up and took me to jail. I was booked around 3:30 in the morning."

The accused crime, initially, was interfering with a peace officer. But after court today, the Kernel says, he was charged with erecting a structure and third-degree criminal mischief. ("Mischief is a pretty good charge," he joked. "I could have fun with that.")

"I'm feeling fine," he says, adding that he plans on proceeding to trial and also fighting the charges on constitutional grounds. "I'm excited for the opportunity to bring it into the public arena and pump up the public dialogue."

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