On Monday, the day when American had to file their taxes with the IRS, WMNF reporter and CL contributor Janelle Irwin attended a rally held to protest at Bank of America - where the story switched from the bank's practices to the Tampa Police Department's.
By Janelle Irwin
Supporters of several progressive organizations gathered in front of the Bank of America on Kennedy Boulevard in downtown Tampa on Monday to protest tax loopholes for very large and very wealthy corporations. They came armed with a list of ten corporate giants they consider culprits of scandalous tax practices, including Bank of America.
The protest began glitch free, but it didn't end that way. Things got a little shaken up when one protester, Katharine Moseley, got a little too close with her camera.
According to Moseley, she was approached by an unknown man. He asked her to leave. When she asked for identification, however, the man refused.
"This man in a blue shirt comes up to me and says I need to leave. So I asked him who he was. He said he wasn't with Bank of America, but he was with the building. I says, 'who is that, who is your employer?'. And he said 'that's none of your business'," Moseley said.
Moseley then recalled being approached by a second man. This man was wearing a red shirt and he identified himself as a police officer. Moseley said she asked for identification and he provided only a badge. She said she asked for further identification because anyone can get a badge from the Army-Navy store. According to Moseley, he refused to give her any further information.
The man in the red shirt was later identified as an undercover police officer from the Tampa Police Department. He detained Moseley and escorted her inside the building. Moseley was given a notice to appear in court on charges of trespassing and resisting arrest without violence.
Other protesters looked on in horror. They were concerned that Moseley's rights weren't being protected.
"We're not doing anything wrong out here. We have the right to be here and then someone comes along and ambushes one of our protesters," said Tim Heberlein.
