Protesters Take Uber to Convention Hall Steps
Some two dozen protesters used Uber cars to get as far as the parking lots at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, staging a sit-in and forcing delegates to step over them.
While police were taking away the last of those demonstrators, a crowd massed outside rushed an outer security fence, with seven breaking through and getting arrested by the Secret Service, officials said.
Video from that rowdy scene outside the Wells Fargo Center also showed some protesters setting a flag ablaze -- and a woman's leg catching on fire when she tried to stomp it out.
It was the boldest night of protests since the convention began, but by the time President Obama was done addressing delegates inside the arena, the action outside had died down and the crowds were dispersing.
The group behind the Uber-powered demonstration was the progressive coalition Democracy Spring, which has been giving civil disobedience training sessions to its supporters.
To get as close as possible to the convention site, the protesters ordered cars that took them to a drop-off point in the parking lots.
There's a credential checkpoint for arriving Ubers but protest organizer K.C. Martel said they breezed through by flashing counterfeits.
"Yeah, security wasn't that great," he said.
They unfurled a banner and sat down in front of an entrance for delegates and other guests. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was among those who had to be led by police around the sit-in.
The group could not have gotten farther than they did without having their credentials scanned and going through metal detectors.
"This is a militarized police zone ostensibly protecting the democratic process, but average people have been locked out of this arena and this process," Martel said.
The Democracy Spring protesters were expected to get citations and be released.
On Monday and Tuesday, police issued 55 citations. The Secret Service also arrested four people on Tuesday night for jumping over the security fence.