Demo Report November 1, 2005

Fur Ghoul Dennis Basso Protested at Charity Gala

On Tuesday, November 1, 2005, the Alzheimer's Association Rita Hayworth Gala held at the posh Waldorf Astoria Hotel honored Dennis Basso. Luckily activists from Win Animal Rights were tipped off way in advance and had a warm welcome planned for NYC's most hated fur ghoul.

Although the NYPD in their typical obstructionist fashion tried hard to relocate the protest to a place where we would have been unheard and unseen, we stood up for our rights and after some negotiation with the ranking officer on the scene, we held the position right at the front doors of the ritzy hotel. There anyone entering or leaving the event had to look at our signs and the huge banner which read FUR KILLS and included graphic pictures.

During the demonstration, one of the protesters left the barricaded area to speak with activists from another anti-fur group that had gathered on the other side of the Waldorf doorway and to ask why these activists were not being allowed to hold up their signs. These activists would not join the demonstration that was already in progress when they arrived because they didn't like one or two of the WAR chants. While he was away from the WAR protest area, he was arrested for nothing beyond asking a question and indicating that he really wanted an answer.

Never have we seen an activist arrested for asking a question. He was arrested unjustly. Members of WAR angrily jeered at the police and chanted "First Amendment is our right…. We will not give up this fight!". Meanwhile members of the other group gathered up their signs and disappeared into the night. One activist told us that the arrested protester had a dog that needed to be taken care of before she disappeared into the night. Activists followed the Midtown North squad car to the precinct and within minutes of the arrest released action alerts, nationally and internationally, asking for phone calls in support of the jailed activist. We were delighted to see Adam come out of the precinct when he was released within a couple of hours.