United Colors of Carlyle

In New York, members of the M27 Coalition (m27coalition.org), which staged last week's die-in on Fifth Avenue, are also targeting specific corporations with ties to the war. While plans are still in flux, the group agreed on Sunday to target the midtown offices of the Carlyle Group (58th Street and Fifth Avenue), a heavyweight investment firm with strong ties to the defense industry. One of its holdings is United Defense Industries, a maker of armored vehicles, missile launchers, and other advanced weaponry. Media firms and other companies may also be targeted on Monday.
Some organizers question whether calling for these kinds of direct actions in New York is a self-defeating strategy for a city under heightened wartime security, with the largest police force in the U.S. It took a court order to get police to release the bulk of the 215 protesters arrested last Thursday; many were held for more than 20 hours for minor offenses that normally warrant no more than a desk-appearance ticket.
March 20: The World Still Says No To War

On February 12, 2003, the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a multi-plaintiff federal lawsuit on behalf of protesters who were illegally arrested during an anti-war rally last April 7 in New York. The suit charges that the New York Police Department unlawfully arrested the peaceful protesters and detained them for excessively long periods of time at 1 Police Plaza. Over 70 protesters were illegally arrested outside the offices of an affiliate of the Carlyle Group, a defense-related investment firm with financial ties to the Bush and bin Laden families. Fifty-two of the arrestees have joined this lawsuit.
March 20: The World Still Says No To War

In New York, several dozen people were arrested in an anti-war protest that blocked the entrance to the Manhattan building of the Carlyle Group, which has a significant stake in the defense industry.
Up to three hundred people chanted "Carlyle gets fat on war" outside the offices of the $14-billion investment group.
Police said about two or three dozen demonstrators were arrested outside the building on 5th Avenue at 56th Street and charged with disorderly conduct.
The self-described M27 Coalition of protesters said the demonstration was part of a "day of direct action" against the US and British-led war in Iraq. The same group organised a "die in" March 27 that snarled traffic in the centre of Manhattan during morning rush-hour and led to more than 200 arrests.
March 20: The World Still Says No To War

A protest was held this morning at the offices of the Carlyle Group, an
investment fund that will profit from the war on Iraq. Protesters blocked
the entrance to the building and were arrested in an organized civil
disobedience.
But then police surrounded the legal protesters gathered across the street
and refused to let them leave. There was no order to disperse, and those
who tried to leave were stopped. The police then began arresting people
whose only "crime" was to hold a sign protesting the war on Iraq! About 50
people, most of whom have had no CD training whatsoever, were arrested and
are now being held at One Police Plaza.
Call and demand their release! 646-610-5410 and ask why they are being
held, when they committed no crime. Call any elected official you can think
of and ask them to apply pressure.
We must support these people who have simply exercised their constitutional
right of free speech and lawful assembly and are now in jail!
SPREAD THE WORD FAR AND WIDE! RELEASE THE CARLYLE ARRESTEES!
March 20: The World Still Says No To War

April 7: New York Police arrested over 100 legal protesters at today's direct action outside the Carlyle Group. While several people were arrested for blocking the door to the midtown building others across the street were surrounded and arrested for standing on the sidewalk chanting with signs and banners.
March 20: The World Still Says No To War