July 19, 2003
A Friday Morning Across From The Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse
As we rode down the Hawthorne Bridge offramp, the bus driver informed us that the next two stops were closed. Someone important was in town, she said, but she didn't know who. I explained to other curious passengers nearby that U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft was at the U.S. Courthouse.
Not long after walking into the park across the street from the courthouse, I ran into the current organizers for the Portland Bill of Rights Defense Committee (which I left as of July 1), one of whom explained to me that he had heard the press conference itself was invite-only. While in theory that didn't mean I couldn't try to gain entrance, I backed down and simply wandered through the protest over the next couple of hours.
For the gist of the morning's events, both inside and outside the courthouse, see KATU, KOIN (sort of), KGW, OPB, OPB (again), and The Oregonian.
There isn't all that much to tell about the protest activities, although the street theater involving John Ashcroft whipping a bound and gagged Statue of Liberty while trying to steal from her the Constitution seemed to go over fairly well. Media, of course, flocked to it.
I was most amused by random off-camera bits from the KGW reporter covering the protest. Not long after I overheard her discussing how business oriented the media has become, she was doing a little dance groove as protesters chanted, "Ashcroft, Ashcroft you're a lair. We're gonna set your ass on fire." Incidentally, this same reporter interviewed one of the organizers of the Defense Committee, and took the group's contact information. But I have no idea whether it made it onto the air. My impression was that if it were entirely up to the reporter, it would have, but not having seen the news yesterday, I simply don't know.
Later Friday evening, after a half-day at the bookstore, I learned some of what was happening inside the courthouse regarding media access, from someone who was there for the Willamette Week. The gatekeepers apparently were indeed working from some sort of list, as discovered by someone from Portland Independent Media Center who tried to tag along behind the person for the Willamette, but was in fact noticed by those clearing the media people through. Reportedly, The Portland Alliance was not permitted entry either. I have no information as to just how the gatekeepers had assembled their list.
Finally, I see no evidence of transcripts for Ashcroft news conferences on the Department of Justice website, so I can't relate the entirety of what might have been asked by those allowed to attend.