2 Fur Protesters Remain Behind Bars

Two of four anti-fur activists arrested during a protest at Bloomingdale’s department store in Fashion Square Sherman Oaks remained in Van Nuys Jail on Monday awaiting charges, police said.

Michelle Dyrness, 31, of Thousand Oaks, and Elizabeth Gorda, 19, of Calabasas, are being held in lieu of $10,000 bail, said Lt. Willie Guerrero of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division.

Two 17-year-olds were released to their parents after their arrest Sunday.

The protesters, who said they were not representing any specific group, entered the store at 2 p.m. and locked themselves together at the neck with bicycle U-locks to protest the sale of fur, Guerrero said.

A special police unit was called to cut the locks after a few hours as the protesters shouted slogans and displayed graphic pictures of animals being skinned for fur garments, Guerrero said. Other protesters outside the store dispersed when police arrived.

Bloomingdale’s employees hoisted dropcloths around the activists and turned up the music in the store in an attempt to drown out the disturbance, said protester Geoffrey Kerns, 17, one of the two juveniles arrested.

“But we’ve been doing this for a while, so we were able to chant pretty loud,” said the Los Angeles resident.