Prepare this Friday to join the protest at Montgomery BART Station, or plan accordingly to get to wherever you are going without being disrupted.
At 7 a.m. on Friday, people will meet at the the Montgomery BART Station platform. Instructions on Indy Bay carefully state that you should bring a metal spoon.
The protest is planned in response to the charges against 14 Black Lives Matter activists that allegedly stopped service at the West Oakland BART station on Black Friday for two hours to bring attention to the grand jury decision to not indict Darren Wilson, the white cop who shot unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Last Friday night, the BART directors aboard a late night bus were asked to push back on the $70,000 fine given to the protesters.
The BART Friday protest also demands to disband the BART police and provide low-income ticket discounts. More details here.
Many of the protesters will be probably armed with smart phones and will be shooting hashtags #BARTFriday and #MLKSHUTITDOWN on social media.
Update Wednesday 3:50 p.m.: BART issued a statement Wednesday afternoon suggesting passengers factor in the protest into their travel plans, ” especially if those plans include travel through downtown San Francisco stations.” They also offered these words about the transit organization’s policy on protests:
BART fully supports the right to peacefully protest, which is why it has an Expressive Activities Permit process allowing for the expression of First Amendment rights outside the fare gates of our stations. However, if protesters choose potentially dangerous actions that cause major service disruptions, BART Police are prepared to enforce the law and ensure public safety.