200 gather to support Alex Svoboda
A visibly shaken Jan Enstrom on Sunday recounted her daughter’s scuffle with Rhode Island police and the teary 6 a.m. call in which she learned of the 22-year-old’s extensive injuries.
A sympathetic crowd of nearly 200 was gathered on the north steps of the Capitol to hear the family’s stories and support the injured protester, hurt during a confrontation with North Providence police at an Aug. 11 labor demonstration.
Alex Svoboda tore every ligament and a large artery in her left leg when she was tackled by police.
Her family claims she deserves an apology from the North Providence Police Department.
Instead, the Lincoln native faces three counts of simple assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest — all misdemeanors.
A simultaneous rally of roughly equal size was held at a North Providence high school near where the incident occurred.
“They’re in a hostile environment,” said Svoboda’s brother, Nick, before Lincoln’s crowd. “We are in no way implicating the Lincoln Police Department in this at all.”
Providence Journal reporter Mark Arsenault said there was a heavy police presence at the Rhode Island rally. The demonstrators were noisy but peaceful, he said.
Svoboda, who was released from the hospital Saturday, remains in Rhode Island but did not attend the rally there. Her father, Scott Svoboda, said she would avoid making public statements in light of the charges.
Those gathered in Lincoln — including Enstrom and Scott Svoboda, their two sons and other relatives — took pains to follow the law while marching from the Capitol, waiting for stoplights and leaving room for bystanders on sidewalks.
No police presence was noted.
Police were aware of the protest, said Capt. David Beggs, but took no issue with the group.
The march led downtown. They gathered on either side of O Street between 16th Street and Centennial Mall.
Scott Svoboda stood on the northeast corner of the intersection, staring down at the rows of people who had appeared on behalf of his daughter.
“Strangers are here,” he said. “The community support for our daughter is overwhelming...I’ve never expected (this) kind of support in a pickup rally.”
Nick Svoboda guessed about 300 people came and went at the rally, some attending the 12:30 p.m. speeches and others gathering later along O Street.
The gathering was framed mainly as a vigil for Alex Svoboda, her brother said, but issues of labor rights and claims of police brutality came up as well.
“(My sister) is a hometown girl,” Nick Svoboda said. “She may have started a new home for herself in Rhode Island,” he said, but “Lincoln will always be Alex’s hometown.
“This is an issue that effects everyone...it’s a constitutional rights issue.”
Reach Zach Pluhacek at 473-7395 or zpluhacek@journalstar.com.
A sympathetic crowd of nearly 200 was gathered on the north steps of the Capitol to hear the family’s stories and support the injured protester, hurt during a confrontation with North Providence police at an Aug. 11 labor demonstration.
Alex Svoboda tore every ligament and a large artery in her left leg when she was tackled by police.
Her family claims she deserves an apology from the North Providence Police Department.
Instead, the Lincoln native faces three counts of simple assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest — all misdemeanors.
A simultaneous rally of roughly equal size was held at a North Providence high school near where the incident occurred.
“They’re in a hostile environment,” said Svoboda’s brother, Nick, before Lincoln’s crowd. “We are in no way implicating the Lincoln Police Department in this at all.”
Providence Journal reporter Mark Arsenault said there was a heavy police presence at the Rhode Island rally. The demonstrators were noisy but peaceful, he said.
Svoboda, who was released from the hospital Saturday, remains in Rhode Island but did not attend the rally there. Her father, Scott Svoboda, said she would avoid making public statements in light of the charges.
Those gathered in Lincoln — including Enstrom and Scott Svoboda, their two sons and other relatives — took pains to follow the law while marching from the Capitol, waiting for stoplights and leaving room for bystanders on sidewalks.
No police presence was noted.
Police were aware of the protest, said Capt. David Beggs, but took no issue with the group.
The march led downtown. They gathered on either side of O Street between 16th Street and Centennial Mall.
Scott Svoboda stood on the northeast corner of the intersection, staring down at the rows of people who had appeared on behalf of his daughter.
“Strangers are here,” he said. “The community support for our daughter is overwhelming...I’ve never expected (this) kind of support in a pickup rally.”
Nick Svoboda guessed about 300 people came and went at the rally, some attending the 12:30 p.m. speeches and others gathering later along O Street.
The gathering was framed mainly as a vigil for Alex Svoboda, her brother said, but issues of labor rights and claims of police brutality came up as well.
“(My sister) is a hometown girl,” Nick Svoboda said. “She may have started a new home for herself in Rhode Island,” he said, but “Lincoln will always be Alex’s hometown.
“This is an issue that effects everyone...it’s a constitutional rights issue.”
Reach Zach Pluhacek at 473-7395 or zpluhacek@journalstar.com.
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