SACRAMENTO–Protesters’ calls for economic and social justice on Black Friday outside a Rancho Cordova Walmart and Sacramento’s Arden Fair mall led to numerous arrests.
In Rancho Cordova, demonstrators sat in the middle of Zinfandel Drive and Folsom Boulevard late Friday morning, November 28, blocking the streets in protest against Walmart over employee wages and hourly schedules.
As many as 35 protesters were detained and cited. One by one, those sitting in the intersection were placed in wrist restraints by deputies and led to a waiting sheriff’s bus, where they were cited and released. A woman dressed as Santa Claus, later identified in the media as Michelle Pariset, was taken away by deputies and greeted with cheers inside the bus. Some of those arrested, like Maile Mae Hampton, Kiana Howard, and Eric Vega spoke to the news media explaining their objections to Walmart’s labor practices, wages, and part time work status.
Several hours later, approximately 60 demonstrators gathered at the Arden Fair Mall to protest the recent decision by a Ferguson, Missouri grand jury to exonerate a white police officer who fired the fatal shots that killed Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man.
Carrying signs that read “Hands up. Don’t shop!,” “No Justice. No Profits,” and “Black Lives Matter,” demonstrators gathered peacefully outside one of the mall’s entrances, while a police helicopter circled overhead.
As night fell, groups of protesters blocked an intersection at the mall’s main entrance and were told to disperse. When they did not, police arrested them on allegations of failing to disperse, said Sacramento police Officer Doug Morse.
Five people, three adults and two juveniles were detained in a police van at the mall entrance. They were cited and later released.
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News 10: Nearly 40 arrested at Rancho Cordova Walmart protest
