Thirteen women arrested during protests at Columbus Circle yesterday were brought to the 7th Precinct on Pitt Street for processing. They were all taking part in a rally near the Trump Hotel on International Women’s Day / Day Without a Woman.
Local resident and photographer Pat Arnow was on the scene last night at about 10 p.m. as the last of the women, Sophie Ellman-Golan, was released. That’s Sophie’s mother, Rabbi Barat Ellman, on the right and Women’s March organizer Linda Sarsour on the left. Sarsour was one of the 13 arrested for blocking traffic uptown. She was released earlier in the evening.
Upon their arrest, a message went up on the Women’s March Twitter account asking demonstrators to meet those arrested at the Lower East Side precinct.
UPDATE: Meet us at 7th precinct (19 1/2 Pitt St) in Manhattan to show solidarity with our sisters who were arrested today. #DayWithoutAWoman
— Women’s March (@womensmarch) March 8, 2017
Arnow said she asked a police officer why the protesters were brought down to the Lower East Side:
He said he didn’t know, since there are a lot of precincts where they could be booked between here and there (Columbus Circle). He suggested that it might be that this out-of-the-way police station was chosen in the hopes of keeping the number of protesters down. It might have worked but still, some intrepid people waited for the more than seven hours for all those who had engaged in civil disobedience to be released.
More from Time Magazine on the scene inside the station house:
The 13 women were kept two to a cell. They sang “We Shall Overcome” and “This Little Light of Mine” and gospel songs up and down the corridors of the NYPD’s 7th precinct in downtown Manhattan. “We checked on each other,” said (Tamika) Mallory, the first of the 13 to be released. “The goal is to show young girls and women that their voice is their power,” said (Carmen) Perez after her release. “The fact that we’re able to inspire so many other women out here in the world is truly an honor.” Perez joked that the detained activists spent their time behind bars “plotting the next big action” and said the detained activists were cold, hungry, and tired after their ordeal.
Ellman-Golan’s mother was arrested about three weeks ago while protesting Donald Trump’s travel ban. Rabbi Ellman, waiting outside the precinct said of her daughter, “I’m incredibly proud of her… Her activism has encouraged my more recent activism… Were a mother-daughter arrestee team.”
Here’s one more photo from Pat Arnow. A driving dog kept people entertained on Pitt Street last night:
