February 28, 2017
Brian Hickey/PhillyVoice
Protesters sit in the lobby of the JFK Boulevard building that houses the offices of Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, demanding he meet with constituents in a face-to-face town hall. After defying police warnings to leave the building on Tuesday afternoon, 11 protesters were arrested and will face disorderly conduct citations.
Four months ago, protesters began their weekly rallies outside U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s office in Center City with little to no friction.
On Tuesday, the day before the legislative staff moves to the U.S. Customs House in Old City, though, Philadelphia police arrested seven women and four men for entering the building and refusing to leave when asked.
The weekly protest continued on the sidewalk outside, with the hundreds who gathered focusing on EPA budget cuts. The police were more concerned with the handful who made their way into the lobby of the private office building.
There, the protesters chanted about wanting a real-life town-hall meeting with their elected official, marched in circles, sat down and refused to heed three warnings from the police civil-affairs unit officers who laid down a leave-or-get-arrested ultimatum.
None of the 11 left so, one by one, their hands were placed into plastic cuffs. They were then led out the back of the building to police vans waiting to take them to the Ninth District for processing.
Among those arrested was Tuesdays With Toomey organizer Angela York-Crane who, like her fellow cuffed protestors, was met by cheers from dozens of protesters who walked around the building to watch them led outside.
Police Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan said the seven women and four men who were arrested will face civil citations for disorderly conduct, which isn’t a criminal offense.
Though the protesters – before they were cuffed – maintained they were told it would take six to eight hours for processing, Sullivan estimated their time at the Ninth District station house (near the Barnes Museum) would be an hour to 90 minutes.
After the vans pulled off around 1:35 p.m., protester Rick Sorensen placed a call from outside to the Toomey office, telling whomever answered the phone that they’ll continue to protest outside his new office.
Protesters are led away from the Center City office of Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey after they were arrested by Philadelphia police on Tuesday afternoon.
Sorensen maintained that he was told Toomey “will represent you for the next six years” but that they declined to take a meeting today or accept letters from protesters.
Toomey press secretary Steve Kelly responded to the protests on Tuesday afternoon:
“Last week, Senator Toomey’s office informed the Philadelphia Tuesday protesters that Senator Toomey would be in Washington today, February 28th, and that staff would not be available to meet due to the impending office move that is scheduled for tomorrow.
"In an effort to ensure that a constructive dialogue was continuing, staff met with protesters last Thursday in Philadelphia.
“Senator Toomey’s current Philadelphia office is located in a privately owned building. Each week, building management, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police Department, work to ensure protesters are able to organize in a safe and lawful environment.
Today, though, protesters decided to stage a sit-in in the lobby of the building where Senator Toomey’s Philadelphia office is located. After voicing their concerns, protesters were asked by building management to leave. This was followed up by multiple requests from the Philadelphia Police Department.
“Senator Toomey believes that civility is a necessary part of a productive conversation. He does not support the actions of the protesters today who disobeyed the lawful requests from the Philadelphia Police Department.”
