Senior law, justice and society major Brett Flener was arrested on Friday night along with 26 other protesters on Legislative Plaza as part of the Occupy Nashville movement.
The arrest was captured on video by Nashville Scene reporter Jonathan Meador. The video is currently making its rounds on YouTube.
- At the :06 mark you hear Meador introduce himself as a reporter with the Nashville Scene to the protestors
- At the :13 mark Brett Flener, the Lipscomb student, introduces himself
- At :22, an office, over a bullhorn, tells the protestors that their “time is up” (the new Plaza curfew is at 10:00 p.m. with 10 minutes given to demonstrators to leave the area)
- At :26, you hear a protestor say, “they are approaching!”
- At :35, the trooper, pictured above, approaches Meador
- At :38, Meador, tells the trooper that he is “getting off” several times
- At :40, Meador is told that he is under arrest, and at the same time, Meador exclaims that he is a member of the media
- At :45, the trooper tells Meador that he “had his time”
- At :46 The troopers tells Meador that he is “resisting arrest”
- At :54, the initial trooper tells a fellow officer to “tell him when you get him up there, charge him with resisting arrest”
- At 1:10 you hear a very distinct sound of handcuffs clasping around Meador’s wrists
- At 1:38, the officer tells Meador, or “Hoss” at this point apparently, that the camera is going in his pocket
The group was released later that evening by night court magistrate Tom Nelson.
Earlier this month, senior Clay Smith gave us a video of the protests and Emily Snell compiled an article about Smith’s involvement.
Flener says that the officers told the group that they had 10 minutes to leave prior to the 10:00 pm curfew that had been set by Gov. Bill Haslam. When the group did not leave, they were all arrested.
“We were all put in a bus and kept in a holding cell for a few hours,” Flener said.
Once the Judge released the group, they made their way back to the plaza for the night and re-occupied. Flener says everyone was in good spirits.
While some arrested feel like they were treated unfairly, Flener says that his arrest was very peaceful; some do not feel the same way.
Take Nashville Scene reporter Jonathon Meador. He was pushed to the ground and given charges of resisting arrest and public intoxication during the arrest. However, all charges were dropped.
Flener says that he was treated with “respect” and that the arresting officers were “polite,” but he can only speak for himself.
However, he does say that he felt violated during the arrests.
“I thought our first amendment rights were violated. Specifically…the right to assembly and the right to express grievances with the government,” Flener says.
The First Amendment reads as follows:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Following the First Amendment, Flener does have a point. That is why Magistrate Nelson let the protestors go on the Saturdayh.
“I have reviewed the regulations of the state of Tennessee, and I can find no authority anywhere for anyone to authorize a curfew anywhere on Legislative Plaza,” said Judge Nelson to one of the arresting officers.
Since the initial arrests, THP officers have not shown up to the plaza to arrest those violating “curfew.”
Flener issued a statement on his Facebook page, urging others to become a part of the Occupy Nashville Christian movement. It reads as follows:
I was arrested on October 29, along with 26 others, by the Tennessee Highway State Patrol for participating in Occupy Nashville. I was arrested for practicing our First Amendment rights of free speech and the right to peaceably assemble to petition the government for redress of grievances. We were arrested and quickly released by the Night Court Magistrate Tom Nelson who would not sign the warrants for arrest.
The decision making process on whether or not I was going to be involved was a lengthy one. I decided to participate after having numerous conversations and debates with people whose values and daily lives I respect.
The statement of faith that a group of us created for Christian communities is what I base my involvement on. (If you have an interest in putting your signature on this email me at flenerbn@gmail.com, we are compiling them in 2 weeks) :
Because we believe that all of the Law and the Prophets hang on the two greatest commandments to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves;
Because we believe that we are called to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, and bury the dead;
Because we believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind and release for the oppressed;
Because we believe that no one can serve two masters, and therefore, we cannot serve both God and money;
Because we believe that in the beloved community that there is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female;
Because we believe that we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us;
Because we believe that faith without works is dead;
We have made the decision to celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ by participating in Occupy Nashville. As followers of Jesus, we can no longer sit idly by while millions of our sisters and brothers, children made in the image of God, suffer needlessly due to greed.
When the top 1% of households in this country controls 38.1% of the total wealth, we do not love our neighbors as ourselves.
When the top 10% of households in this country controls over 70% of the total wealth, we do not love our neighbors as ourselves.
When the bottom 40% of households in this country controls only 0.2% of the total wealth, we do not love our neighbors as ourselves.
When the false doctrine of corporate personhood is perpetrated in a manner that allows corporate control of the political process, we do not love our neighbors as ourselves.
When over 46 million Americans are living in poverty, we do not love our neighbors as ourselves.
When at least 1 in 6 Americans is without health insurance, we do not love our neighbors as ourselves.
When we fail to love our neighbors as ourselves, we do not love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Therefore, we invite all Christian leaders and followers of Jesus the Christ to join us in Legislative Plaza, or to join with us in spirit by signing this statement of faith and support. We do this because we believe another world is possible. We believe the Kingdom of God is among us.
I am not under the impression that this movement will–at least at this point in time–push for certain legislative or political action, and for many people observing and participating that is a major frustration. One of the movement’s greatest contributions, however, is the awareness, research, and dialogue it has stimulated. The more educated we are on the situation, the better we can respond to the unique challenges that the future holds. The movement has awakened the conscious of a nation–and the world–to the plight of the poor and marginalized globally. It has people asking questions that they were not asking before the masses began occupying and for that I am thankful. I look forward to the groups that will commit themselves to working for a more just an equitable world due to Occupy Wall Street. And it is my hope that people will take a look at their own lives, and see where they can give more of themselves for others because the change starts with us.
Peace,
Brett Flener
For any questions or comments, Flener invites all to email him at FLENERBN@mail.lipscomb.edu.
UPDATE: Oct. 31, 4:05 pm
A federal judge has granted a “temporary restraining order today requiring the state to stop arresting Occupy Nashville protesters at Legislative Plaza,” according to the Tennessean. A group of local attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed suit this morning against Gov. Haslam and other officials within the state to temporary stop the arrests that were happening at Legislative Plaza over the weekend. U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger granted the request. The lawsuit alleges that the arrests and the new restrictions on gatherings at Legislative Plaza are unconstitutional violations of the protesters First Amendment rights, according to the Tennessean.
The rest of the series can be viewed here:
- A Lipscomb student’s arrest at Occupy Nashville [Lumination Network]
- Belmont professor Thom Storey’s involvement in a formal SPJ complaint to the governor [Belmont Journal]
- Reaction from Nashville’s journalism community to Nashville Scene reporter’s arrest [Lumination Network]
- Interview with Gene Policinski, executive director of Nashville’s First Amendment Center [Belmont Journal]