25 in S. Africa Consulate Protest Arrested

A planned weeklong sit-in at the South African Consulate in Beverly Hills was cut short Tuesday when a federal official placed 25 of the student protesters under citizen’s arrest for obstructing access to the facility.

Twenty-four juveniles and one adult member of the Los Angeles Student Coalition were arrested shortly after noon by a member of the U.S. State Department, said Beverly Hills Police Lt. Robert P. Curtis. The protesters, who began their sit-in Monday morning, were booked at the police station for investigation of misdemeanor charges of obstructing a person’s access to a public place, Curtis said.

“When consul employees tried to enter the building, they were denied access. So (the protesters) were advised if they did not allow them access they would be arrested,” said Curtis, who added that the students were told several times before their arrest that they could leave the building. Instead, “they quickly stood and blocked all the doorways,” he said.

Although Beverly Hills police had been present at the consulate since the sit-in began, the protesters were placed under arrest by Douglas Rosenstein, a special agent with the Los Angeles office of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, after he was prevented from entering.

Robert Morris, special agent in charge of the bureau’s Los Angeles office, said he did not know whether consulate officials had asked Rosenstein to make the arrest. The consulate declined to comment.

By 4 p.m. Tuesday, most of the juveniles had been released into the custody of their parents, Curtis said. The one adult, Steven J. Hodges, 19, of Van Nuys, was released on his own recognizance.

Coalition member Melissa Kievman said the arrests will not stop future protests. “We’ll be back. (We’ll) return until the consulate is out of Los Angeles.”