Two anti-immigration enforcement protesters who blocked New York City traffic this week have been revealed as long-time activists, with one participating in protests since the 1980s.
The two activists were filmed on Tuesday morning blocking traffic on Houston Street in Lower Manhattan. One of the New Yorkers in the stopped traffic, a mother, pleaded with the activists to move out of the way so she could get to work. The activists instead told her there was nothing they could do, with one even laughing at the idea that she had a job to get to.
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One activist, identified as Karen Ramspacher, is a 60-year-old who has engaged in activism since at least 1989. As the Daily Mail noted, Ramspacher was quoted in a 1989 issue of OutWeek magazine about being arrested at an abortion rights protest.
In 2002, Ramspacher, then part of a group called ACT UP, was quoted in a report about a protest against the Coca-Cola Company. The ACT UP activists were described by the Nation as “an organization known for civil disobedience and surprise protests.”
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Also according to the Daily Mail, Ramspacher was pictured at the 2017 25th Annual Dyke March for lesbian rights and the 2022 Women’s March in Washington, D.C.
Photo by DAVID DEE DELGADO/AFP via Getty Images
Ramspacher justified impeding the NYC traffic this week in an interview with the Daily Mail, saying it was “a temporary, momentary interruption to the regular flow of traffic” in order to “bring attention and express people’s concerns about this dangerous situation we find ourselves in where the military and ICE agents are going into the communities and taking our friends and family members.”
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Ramspacher also said in the interview that she did not know the male protester, despite both holding onto the same bicycle when blocking traffic. That man was identified by the Daily Mail as Trevor Britvec, who also has a history of activism in the city.
The U.K. outlet cited public records showing that Britvec sued New York City over alleged civil rights violations by the NYPD in July 2020 at a Black Lives Matter protest.
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“Oh no, not work,” the male protester said sarcastically to reporter Savanah Hernandez, who filmed the ordeal. “I care so much,” Britvec joked, making a mockery of the mother’s situation.
* Original Article:
https://www.theblaze.com/news/anti-ice-protester-since-1980s
