"Obstructing a Thoroughfare" Laws written to be used against Civil Rights protesters
The law many protesters at Occupy Oakland have been arrested under, CA Penal Code Section 647c, is a copycat of a Birmingham, Alabama vagrancy law that was used against African American civil rights activists in the 1960′s. The law was written to prevent civil rights activists from assembling in to protest racial discrimination. It is being used for similar purposes in Oakland in 2012. California Penal Code Section 647c states [...]