The police have arrested protesters outside of CoreCivic, a private prison in Nashville, Tennessee, that has a contract with ICE on Monday afternoon.
A few dozen protesters shut down multiple entrances to the prison preventing employees from getting into work.
Many interlocked arms inside barrels of concrete to make it harder for law enforcement to forcibly remove them. One individual hung themselves from a giant tripod, making it even more difficult for the police to figure out how to get them down. They ended up using a firetruck-like vehicle to remove them.
Demonstrators are occupying the entrance to CoreCivic, a Nashville-based private prison operator that contracts with ICE. They’ve shut down multiple entrances, set up tents & replaced CCA/Tennessee flag with “No borders.” Employees are just starting to arrive. pic.twitter.com/zPS2SpDTPG
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) August 6, 2018
Signs read “This Facility Is On Lockdown,” “Profit From Pain Is Inhumane,” and “Abolish CCA,” which is the abbreviation for CoreCivic.
The protesters were planning on staying until CoreCivic was abolished and had prepared to be there for days, according to Natalie Allison, a reporter from the Tennessean.
“We have no intention of leaving. It’s a nonviolent, peaceful resistance,” said Rev. Jeannie Alexander to Allison. Rev. Alexander was later arrested.
Here the cops are trying to figure out how they’re going to get these people up who have locked their hands inside of barrels full of cement weighing hundreds of pounds. pic.twitter.com/pdD4FVeCzD
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) August 6, 2018
A former CoreCivic employee, Ashley Dixon, was there to protest as well. “I quit because I witnessed two people die due to medical neglect,” she said and was subsequently arrested later in the day.
He was also just carried by his hands and feet into a cop car. Police told him to get down from the wall, which he did. Then they arrested him for trespassing since he was on @CoreCivic property. #ResistICENashville pic.twitter.com/MQHuuN5qcz
— Natalie Allison (@natalie_allison) August 6, 2018
The police ended up making arrests because they were protesting on private property and refused to leave the premises.