by Rob Nagle
The last three protesters arrested in connection with a Kink.com protest last weekend were released early this morning, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Sarai Robles-Medez, 21, and Prisca Carpenter, 24, both from Oakland; and Rebecca Luisa Ruizlichter, 32, of San Francisco were released from jail just after 1 a.m.
They were arrested Saturday after taking part in a protest at Kink. The protesters took issue with the theme of a party the fetish porn company was throwing. People invited to the party were encouraged to “get arrested” and enjoy “solitary confinement, showers, jailbreak, love and lust, freedom and confinement.”
Two groups, Gay Shame San Francisco and LAGAI-Queer Insurrection, felt that the party’s theme belittled the often brutal conditions of prison life.
After the protest, many of the activists gathered at the 16th Street BART station, where they say security guards working the Kink party pointed out to police several activists who were later arrested.
A spokesman for Kink said that the protesters had shut down their event at times and threw fruits and vegetables at the venue. He also said one of the security guards was assaulted.
In all, seven activists were arrested. Four were released Sunday morning.
On Tuesday, the District Attorney’s Office had not filed charges on the remaining three in custody pending further investigation. They were still in custody until 1 a.m. this morning.
A representative for Gay Shame San Francisco said the group will be holding a news conference today at 6 p.m. at the 16th Street BART station to address the issues of what they say was brutal treatment by police at an otherwise peaceful demonstration.