An Iraq War veteran was arrested last week during a protest against an impending military attack on Syria. Emily Yates, the veteran, was playing the banjo at the Independence Mall in Philadelphia.
Video that captured the incident shows Yates talking with federal park police officers about why she couldn’t stand where she was. After she told onlookers that she wasn’t doing anything illegal, the police grabbed her and brought her to a bench. She was then arrested.
During the arrest, she screamed out repeatedly and said that the officers were hurting her. She said that the arrest shows why the U.S. is a police state.
A website has been set up supporting Yates. “She was not engaged in any illegal activity and was not told why she was being attacked. While she was busy playing a song, park rangers accosted her,” the website states.