Activists Wrangle Ringling

CLEVELAND, OH -- Activists from all over Ohio and Pennsylvania joined forces for two weeks of intensive anti-circus action when Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus came to Cleveland on October 24th through November 2nd. These actions followed previous anti-Ringling Brothers CDs in San Francisco and Denver.

Over fifty protesters chanted, waved signs and leafletted cars on the first night of protesting. Some activists dressed as clowns and handed out coloring books depicting animals happily enjoying their natural habitat. Security was relatively light the first night. Little did they know what lay in wait for them the following day...

Saturday night, clouded by intense chanting from the activists assembled outside, three activists walked into the Gund Arena lobby and quickly U-locked themselves together around the neck in front of the ticket office and began to yell "There is no Excuse for Animal Abuse!!!!" at the top of their lungs. The first security guards to arrive on the scene were clueless as to how to deal with the fervent activists. The cops were no less stupefied. After several minutes of standing around looking dumb the cops decided to ask politely for the activists to leave. They refused and their yelling only intensified. The police stood around for a few more minutes asking each other what to do. The following conversation was overheard:

"What are we supposed to do with them?"
"I don't know. You are my superior officer, you tell me."

The activists were still yelling fifteen minutes later when the maintenance personnel arrived with bolt cutters. (NOTE TO ALL ANIMAL LIBERATION ACTIVISTS: Do not buy U-locks at Big Lots. The bolt cutters snapped right through three of the cheap locks, but the fourth one, an expensive masterlock, held and was later removed with a drill.) Once the locks were cut, the activists still refused to budge and continued yelling loud enough to be heard outside (through two layers of glass).

In an uncharacteristic display of ingenuity, the police loaded the protesters onto wheelchairs and cuffed them in place. The activists yelled their outrage during the entire trip through the arena, and didn't stop until they were put in a basement drunk tank. The activists were then transferred to a patrol car, from which they could see captive elephants tugging at their chains. This brought the whole incident into perspective and gave the activists an even deeper resolve and a clearer sense of empathy for the abused.

All three activists, Stephanie Allen, Kim Chicchi, and Bethany Maggiano, were held overnight at the Cleveland Justice Center, and thanks to massive jail support from activists nationwide, were released the next day on their own recognizance. One of the activists decided to go vegan as she sat in her cell and thought about the many sufferings of animals.

When the circus protests were continued the following week, security was massively increased. In front of the ticket office, where there had previously been only two female security officers, there were now seven huge men and four cops. Additionally, a metal security gate was in place which allowed access for only a few people at a time. If this sort of action continues nationwide Ringling Brothers will be forced to reconsider the value of its animal acts.