With only a few days’ notice, eyewitnesses of a Taser incident downtown Friday afternoon and other supporters managed to gather a group of about 50 at the intersection of East 13th Avenue and University Street on campus Thursday afternoon to protest the arrest of students Ian George Van Ornum and Anthony Jameson Farley.
Van Ornum and Farley were arrested with the use of a Taser at a rally protesting the use of pesticides. A third Eugene man was also arrested.
The large, enthusiastic turnout at the hastily organized protest spoke volumes about student attitude toward the incident and reaffirmed that Van Ornum and Farley weren’t facing their charges alone.
“I’m really happy with the amount of student support,” said student Emmalyn Garrett, one of the event’s organizers. She was passing out white armbands that symbolized support for the two students who police stunned with Tasers and opposition to Eugene Police officers’ actions. “We threw this together so quickly, but so many people showed up.”
Van Ornum was at the protest, and he showed no signs of stress. “I just consider myself lucky to be here,” he said. “I’m so grateful, the community really is mad about this. Everyone has come together, and that is what we really need right now.”
Neither Van Ornum nor Farley helped organize the protest, though both were there.
Van Ornum said that he is not going to be active in organizing publicity for the Tasing incident.
“I’m going to use the spotlight to really push for no pesticides in the county,” he said.
Farley was impressed by the amount of support both he and Van Ornum are receiving from the community.
The student support at the rally “is fantastic,” said Farley. “It’s just ridiculously amazing. It’s more support than I could have possibly imagined.”
Many students had brought their own handmade signs to the protest. Some read “Free the Kesey Three,” “This is out of control” and “Peace Peace: All One.” Other students simply stood by in support.
Carly Barnicle, a student who witnessed Friday afternoon’s events in Kesey Square, told the group she had black paint for those who wanted to paint an “X” over their mouths to symbolize the free speech they felt the police and media had stripped from them.
“We feel really misrepresented in the media right now,” Barnicle said. “That police report was totally fabricated, but that’s what they’re going by.”
The police report told a very different story than some of the rally members who saw the events play out that afternoon. According to reports, police told Van Ornum he was under arrest after he asked one plainclothes officer if he wanted poison in his face, referring to the bottle of liquid he was carrying, on which he had drawn a skull and crossbones. After Van Ornum was placed under arrest, a police press release said he “began fighting with the officers” and “was taken into custody with the assistance of a Taser.”
But according to Barnicle, “The police grabbed him and dragged him across the street, slammed him on the ground and Tased him after he was handcuffed.” Several other student sources who were in Kesey Square that afternoon told similar stories.
“Police brutality is unacceptable,” said political science major Natalie Orr, who was not at the pesticide rally but came to the campus protest to support Van Ornum and Farley. She found out about the protest through Facebook, where student Jesse Hough had set up an event for which there were 186 confirmed guests as of noon Thursday.
“It’s amazing, the powers of social networking,” Orr said. “It’s interesting how the Internet has become such a strong political force.”
After an hour and a half, the large group still showed no signs of thinning out. None of them knew how long they would be there.
“I have a class at 4,” said Orr, shrugging. “Maybe I’ll stay until then.”
Later in the evening, Barnicle and others planned to host a lecture on non-violence at the Survival Center to prepare for the silent gathering they will hold Saturday in Kesey Square.
“We’re going to continue to try to raise awareness about what happened to the Kesey Three,” Barnicle said.
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