Two Banks on P Street Get Windows Smashed by IMF Protesters
25 April 2009 5:45 PM | By Prince Of Petworth in Crime, Crime - Stories, Neighborhoods - Logan Circle
A buddy of mine called me when I happened to be in Logan Circle to ask if I knew what happened at the PNC bank located on the corner of 14th and P. I ran over to take a look and it was quite a scene. Multiple windows were smashed.
Actually the PNC bank alone had enough glass smashed to fill the back of a pick up truck:
Further west on P Street I found out the Wachovia was hit as well:
Notice the red spray paint above? Well, a worker there told me that the damage took place at 5:30 am and the police caught the vandals. How did they catch them? Well there were cameras. But in addition to that the protesters had fresh red spray paint on their shoes. Beautiful!
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25 April 2009 5:51 PM | me Said:
ahh the well intentioned uninformed lead by the mal intentioned well informed…
25 April 2009 8:13 PM | Mr. T in DC Said:
What a bunch of morons.
25 April 2009 9:16 PM | John Said:
I can see both sides. PNC does place unrealistic conditions on their loans to developing nations and me.
25 April 2009 10:23 PM | jules Said:
Is that Wachovia branch propping up dictators again?
What a bunch of pinheads.
25 April 2009 10:24 PM | Anon5 Said:
I’m come to believe that people who deface property like this simply have nothing better to do.
NBC is reporting that the miscreants also spray-painted cars and broke windows at Starbucks.
If you don’t like the IMF, or one of these banks, or whatever, there are plenty of non-violent and LEGAL ways to express your discontent.
26 April 2009 10:11 AM | NAB Said:
Saw some of these kids (yes, they were hardly over 20) hanging around a church a couple blocks away on Friday evening. I guess that makes columbia heights a “breeding ground.” Where’s old Dicky C and his pheasant gun of justice when you need him?
26 April 2009 10:30 AM | Anonymous Said:
There is NO “both sides” to this. Two wrongs do not make a right.
26 April 2009 12:00 PM | Anonymous Said:
I do not condone the vandalism against the banks, as the expectations from the IMF regarding the United States to bring the entire world out of the global economic slump are unreasonable, other nationswould be better off to get their house in order rather than to create unreasonable expectations of the USA.
26 April 2009 12:30 PM | Herb Said:
I am laying low this weekend fearing my house may be next. I was once employed by PNC Bank so obviously I am part of …well what ever it is they are actually protesting.
26 April 2009 12:54 PM | cookietime420 Said:
Say whatever you want to about these brave vandals but their actions had an enormous impact: they pushed the IMF to radically change its policies virtually overnight in response to the window-breaking and spray-painting. Now their policies are um, more, you know, better, and community like, and sustainable and empowering of the poor and oppressed. At least that’s what a guy told me at wonderland last night but we were both pretty drunk.
26 April 2009 2:02 PM | Richard Said:
“Free trades stops war!”
– Tobi Ziegler
[Irony intended.]
26 April 2009 8:33 PM | Anonymous Said:
I work for the IMF and this has really made me think twice about the conditions I impose on developing countries.
26 April 2009 10:05 PM | zilla Said:
one word. prison. there are better ways to effect change.
26 April 2009 11:25 PM | eric in ledroit Said:
i just re-watched “Heat” two weekends ago and seeing this i initially thought “holy crap there was a running gun battle following a bank robbery on P street just like in Heat!” The truth is far less interesting (but far more comforting as it relates to my safety sitting in sidewalk cafes)
27 April 2009 12:23 AM | Victoriam Said:
A truck-load of broken glass looks like a great art project – not sure what, but ought to be played with – where can I get some?
But as for anarchists -I offered housing for the last 3 anti-war protests and one year wound up with a dozen of them in my basement. I didn’t know they were anarchists (just thought they were stupid punks, dropping their American Spirit cigarette butts all over my back yard while bragging about dumpster diving) until they all turned out in their uniforms on protest day (is there a special store? Who exactly, decrees the anarchist dress code anyway? Could one wear pink? )
Then, all I had asked was that they clean the bathroom before leaving, but they just couldn’t get enough direction to accomplish that. Funniest of all, they came back from the protest all proud about how they had turned over newspaper boxes to block the “facist cops,” then the next morning, after their car had been broken into, they whined for hours about how the cops didn’t protect their property and how long it took for a cop to show up to take a report for their insurance!
So I say we just outlaw black bandanas and hoodies and let them all just go move somewhere already anarchistic, like Sudan or Afghanistan or that Lord of the Flies Island.
27 April 2009 2:44 AM | Shawn Said:
“Funniest of all, they came back from the protest all proud about how they had turned over newspaper boxes to block the “facist cops,” then the next morning, after their car had been broken into, they whined for hours about how the cops didn’t protect their property and how long it took for a cop to show up to take a report for their insurance!”
Hahaha! This is really, really funny! Really cracks me up.
I was talking with my roommate and friend about the P St Vandalism and how stupid it was on so many levels:
- Wachovia and PNC are barely connected to the IMF
- Wachovia and PNC are not the worst or most symbolic banks to target related to this economic mess
- Random retail branches are hardly a good target compared to headquarters
- The people that are going to pay for their damage are not “capitalist banks” but probably an insurance company or the owner of that building
– We both agreed that this doesn’t help persuade ANYONE towards their cause.
And my roommate chipped in the most ironic thing:
- these 17-20 something (probably) white kids were trying to make a point, but ended up just making a mess that (probably) minority maintenance worker is going to have to clean up
28 April 2009 7:45 PM | bogfrog Said:
anyone know why Wachovia (at Columbia Hts) ATM was closed Sunday afternoon?