Washington A16, 2000 was a series of protests in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

against the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, that occurred in April 2000. The annual IMF and World Bank meetings were the scene for follow-on protests of the 1999 WTO protests. In April 2000, between 10,000 and 15,000 protesters demonstrated at the IMF, and World Bank meeting (official numbers are not tallied).

Planning

The

International Forum on Globalization International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

held

non-violent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizenship, citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be cal ...

training at Foundry United Methodist Church. The Convergence Center at 1328 Florida Avenue was an activists’ meeting hall where the nonviolence training and prop making occurred (such as signs and puppets). The protests were planned for April 16 and 17, concurrent dates as the planned meetings between the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Many of the protesters wanted to see accountability put in place for the globalization process. The United Steelworkers of America president George Becker was a participant at the protest, alongside environmental activists Julia Butterfly Hill and

Mike Roselle Mike Roselle (born 1954) is an American Environmental movement, environmental activist and author who is a prominent member of the radical environmentalism movement. Roselle is one of the co-founders of the radical environmental organization Earth ...

April 15, 2000

On April 15 the Washington D.C. Police preemptively raided (without a search warrant) the Convergence Center, citing fire safety. This police action was cited as an 'unconstitutional raid' during the subsequent class action lawsuit. The day before the larger protest scheduled on April 16, a smaller group of protesters demonstration against the Prison-Industrial Complex in the District of Columbia. Mass arrests were conducted; 678 people were arrested, including bystanders, journalists and tourists when the police did a sweep of the block. Majority of the arrests on April 15 occurred at 20th Street NW between I and K streets. Three-time

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winning,

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

photographer Carol Guzy was detained by police and arrested on April 15, and two journalists for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

also reported being struck by police with batons. These arrests on April 15 were accused of being false and later spurred a class action lawsuit called Becker, et al. v. District of Columbia, et al.''.'.

April 16, 2000

On April 16 and 17 the demonstrations and street actions around the IMF that followed, the number of those arrested grew to 1,300 people. Between April 15 and April 16th, more than 600 people had been arrested.

Lawsuits

In June 2010, the

class-action lawsuit A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

for the April 15th events called ''Becker, et al. v. District of Columbia, et al'' were settled, with $13.7 million damages awarded. Other, similar lawsuits have stemmed from mass arrests in the District of Columbia in recent years. In 2009, the city agreed to pay $8.25 million to almost 400 protesters and bystanders to end a class-action lawsuit over mass arrests in

Pershing Park The National World War I Memorial is a national memorial commemorating the service rendered by members of the United States Armed Forces in World War I. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the World War I Centennial Commiss ...

during 2002 World Bank protests, according to the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, which also represented those plaintiffs.

References

External links