NATO-Chicago Dispatch: Pictoral Play-By-Play Of Friday March, Rally, Arrests & Preliminary Insanity

I wasn't even at Daley Plaza for two minutes when I ran into Vermin Supreme. From Austin to Boston to here, I've seen him more than I've seen my family over the last six months . . .



Like Vermin, there were a few thousand other heads out there assembling peacefully at the National Nurses United rally . . .



Among those congregating on the Plaza were environmentalists, who had their own march planned . . .

But first everyone got down to Tom Morello, because that's what you do at major Occupy events . . .

Before Morello finished "This Land Is Your Land," though, this cop walked over to this group of Black Bloc activists and stuck his thumb in the air. When his fellow officers didn't get the cue, he started screaming for them to come over . . .

Seconds earlier, they were just standing there minding their own business, and playing with their dog . . .

Nevertheless, police came over and began to cause a ridiculous and completely avoidable scene . . .

And like that there was intense commotion, and the "Fuck The Police" chants began . . .

These officers laughed in my face when I asked why they were arresting this dude . . .

Everybody knew that there would be a rogue march, but in the end it was the police who set it off. Turns out that arresting someone for no apparent reason whatsoever is a better rallying call than any mic-check could ever be . . .

That's how everyone wound up in the streets when they did, swinging their fascist-slaying mallets with a vengeance . . .

They marched under the elevated train . . .

And past horses dressed in riot gear . . .

And under giant silver things off the beaten path. . .

Until they got back onto the street, where police started setting up arbitrary road blocks . . .

And pulling riot gear out of the back of vans while giving photogs dirty looks. . .

This cop went and threw a sidekick at a protester, showing off his little dick in more than just one way . . .

And then someone ripped the NATO sign up like a parking ticket, and rang the bell beneath it . . .

Police weren't having it, though I heard this guy was ultimately not arrested . . .

After that, authorities managed to force the horde into a number of splinter groups, kind of like NYPD did so effectively on May Day . . .

To be continued . . .

