On the 11th of May, a large Nakba (catastrophe) Day march commemorating the loss of much of Palestine to Israel assembled in Orlando’s Lake Eola Park. A storm of bike cops descended on the march within the hour. They were quite aggressive in blocking the march from leaving the park.

Once the march turned back to march clockwise around the lake, cops seemed to watch and wait. At the NE corner they pounced. I personally was harassed about being on a bike of my own, no doubt as cops didn’t want my camera in the park. Not willing to give up my ability to maneuver against them for safety, I had to exit the park and film from the outside. Within minutes, they broadcast a mostly inaudible warning not to use bullhorns, then started to muscle their way into the crowd.

Cops never did get anyone with a bullhorn, instead going all the way to attack mode on encountering an arm-locked blockade. Two people were arrested, neither in possession of a bullhorn, and cops fired pepper spray at that moment. They fired a LOT of pepper spray, generating a wind-driven yellow cloud that maced many in the crowd including children as young as five years old.

Within the hour, protesters returned to Disney’s entrance off I-4, this time targetting the mile marker 67 off-ramp to Disney and not the main traffic lanes. Unknown if this was meant as a reprisal for the police violence, but it certainly qualifies as an effective one. This would be considered “counter-value targetting.” That means ensuring that if your side is harmed by an aggressor, something the aggressor values highly pays the price. Nothing is more valuble to the City of Orlando than Disney, the economic engine of the whole area.