Arrested for a casino-free city

This morning, more than 60 Casino-Free activists gathered to stand strong against casinos in Philadelphia. Fourteen of us were prepared to engage in civil disobedience and were peacefully arrested and taken into custody. Read on for important information about events later today.

We have made reasonable demands over the last three years -- since they first told us casinos were "inevitable."

We've tried to get an elected official to represent our interests, and not one has. We've requested an objective, independent study of the economic costs of these proposed casinos, and received nothing (though the PA Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority suggested an economic net loss as a result of casinos). In Philadelphia, we had a public process to develop your vision for the waterfront -- which was ignored.

And so this morning we spoke with our bodies, and a simple message: We'll bankrupt casinos before they can bankrupt us.

Fourteen activists were arrested this morning, representing neighborhoods and organizations from throughout Philadelphia. Ranging in age from 20 to 70; including two members of the clergy; residents of Fishtown, Center City, South Philly and West Philly; they spoke with one voice: predatory gambling out of Philadelphia!

At this time, the 14 who were arrested are still being processed. Our legal team is monitoring the situation but we have not yet been informed of the specific charges or whether bail will be required. However, we are planning a support rally upon their release later today.

If you couldn't make it to the event this morning, we hope you'll be able to show your support to these 14 activists later today. We won't know exactly when those arrested will be released, though it will likely be at a Center City police station.

Meanwhile, several of those who've been arrested have called us with their proverbial "one phone call." Everyone is in excellent spirits.  We are in close contact with their loved ones and other support people.

To be informed about when and where our support rally is happening later today, follow our updates via Twitter,  Facebook or MySpace, or let us know you'd like to be notified.

Our action today was just the beginning -- we are serious when we say that we will shut down any casinos that open, and demonstrated our commitment this morning. We encourage the financial backers of SugarHouse and Foxwoods to reconsider the stability of these risky investments, but if any casinos do attempt to set up shop we are prepared to shut them down. At every step of the way, cynical politicians and compromised regulators told us casinos were a "done deal" -- but we know the real power rests with you, the people.

Thank you for your continuing support and dedication.