August 5, 2004, The Eureka Times-Standard, An arresting viewpoint: Forest activists wage downtown protest, by James Tressler and Chris Durant,

August 5, 2004, The Eureka Times-Standard, An arresting viewpoint: Forest activists wage downtown protest, by James Tressler and Chris Durant, 

EUREKA -- Scores of forest activists took their battle to the streets Wednesday afternoon -- bringing traffic to a halt for more than an hour on Fifth Street in front of the Humboldt County courthouse. 

The protesters, who included activists from Earth First and Mattole Forest Defenders, had initially planned to stage an action in front of the courthouse. But the protest spilled into the street when the protesters spotted several log-bearing trucks on their way up Fifth Street. 

Activists stood in the path of the trucks, forcing them to stop at the Fifth and I streets intersection. One male activist climbed atop one of the trucks, waving a "Defend the Forest" sign and drawing cheers of encouragement from others at the scene. Police eventually climbed up and arrested the man, but not before a second man also climbed up and, with a resigned shrug, allowed police to handcuff him as well. 

Officers from the Eureka and Arcata police departments along with Humboldt County sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded to the protest. The Eureka Fire Department assisted with closing the road, and used ladders to help remove protesters off the logs. 

As soon as the second protester was removed from the truck, someone gave the Redwood Coast Trucking driver a signal to take off, stranding two EPD officers and a Sheriff's Department correctional officer on top. The truck went about four blocksbefore it stopped and the officers got off. 

There were many spirited debates between activists and others on both sidewalks, but there was no violence. 

Activist Jenny Card, better known as Remedy, said Wednesday's event was aimed at expressing frustration at what protesters believe is the ongoing destruction of forests across the region, from the Mattole Forest to Freshwater -- a destruction activists blame on greedy timber companies combined with lax or even complicit state and federal government regulatory agencies. 

Martha Devine, a member of the Humboldt County Green Party, was among many who stood and watched while police handcuffed the two activists on top of the logging truck. Devine said the protest is a sign of the increasing tension between corporations and communities. 

"Corporations believe they have a right to control what's going on in this community," she said. 

Police eventually shut down the block, declared the protest an "illegal assembly" and ordered all to disperse. Some did leave, but most of the group migrated back to the courthouse lawn. 

Both men atop the truck were arrested, booked into the Humboldt County Jail on suspicion of obstructing or resisting arrest and released on their own recognizance. They were James Douglas McGuinn, 21, of Arcata, and Keith Michael Erickson, 28, of Sunny Brae. 

District Attorney Paul Gallegos and Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen witnessed part of the protest as they returned from lunch to the courthouse. Gallegos and Stoen have sued Pacific Lumber Co., alleging the company lied to state negotiators during the 1999 Headwaters Forest deal. Gallegos also survived a recall earlier this year that was financed mostly by Palco. 

Gallegos said that while he understands the frustrations expressed by the activists, he's hoping all sides of the debate can take a step back. 

"Often people's idea of justice is very personal -- it's what they want," Gallegos said. "That's not what justice is supposed to be about. ... This protest is a sign of the failure of government at all levels, but it's also a reflection on individuals' unwillingness to try to find solutions rather than just protest." 

Gallegos suggested the activists try the courts, get more involved in local government and perhaps even run for office. 

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