IWW Union Member Arrested at Insomnia Cookies by Cambridge PD During Legal Picket

Cambridge, Mass. - A picket outside Insomnia Cookies in Cambridge resulted in the arrest of a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union Thursday night.

Jason Freedman was arraigned at Cambridge District Court in Medford Friday morning in a brief hearing by the court’s First Judge, Roanne Sragow.

Charged by Cambridge Police for assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct, Freedman called the allegations “ridiculous.”

Speaking to Open Media Boston at the court, Freedman said, “we weren’t blocking the sidewalk; we were there to protest terrible conditions and pay at Insomnia,” which he says are the “plight of millions of Americans.”

He was taking part in the picket, one of many since August when workers at Insomnia Cookies in Cambridge went on strike for better pay, improved working conditions, and healthcare; four workers were fired following that initial strike.

Freedman alleges that the police officers on the scene treated the demonstrators as if they were a “nuisance,” describing the officers’ behavior as “very aggressive,” and claims that they were there to “harass” and “detain” protestors, and “break-up” the picket.

He further alleges that the police “were there to make an example” of the demonstrators.

Adamant that he was taking part in the picket peacefully, Freedman says he “wasn’t trying to cause conflict” when he was allegedly targeted by police.

Photos and video captured of the incident show that Freedman was tackled to the ground by several Cambridge Police Officers.

He was arrested and released on bail after being held at a police station near Kendall Sq.

At the court, Freedman had a visible scrape and slight swelling above his right eye, and he complained of a great deal of pain in his left arm, noting that same arm had been broken before.

“I definitely felt punches on my body as they tried to wrestle me to the ground,” Freedman alleges, adding that they were “definitely assaulting me.”

He alleges that “it seemed like they … wanted to punch me, and kick me.”

After he had been arrested, he says he repeatedly said to officers, “please don’t touch my left arm,” because he thought it was broken.

Following multiple requests for medical attention, he was treated by paramedics who determined he had not received a broken arm.

This incident follows the firing of a fifth employee of Insomnia Cookies in Cambridge, Tommy Mendes, allegedly for becoming a member of the IWW.

According to the criminal complaint against Freedman shown to Open Media Boston, Officer Edward Burke alleges that Freedman, “who was holding a wooden stick with a flag attached, pushed me with a stick, and flag across my chest.”

The complaint further alleges, “Freedman acted in a very disruptive manner and caused an inconvenience to many pedestrians who had to walk on the street as a result of the struggle.”

According to a press statement from Deputy Superintendent Jack Albert of the Cambridge Police Department, “Officers dispatched to this location were attempting to strike a balance between the freedom of speech of the protestors and the rights of pedestrians and business to access the public sidewalk.

“While attempting to move protestors to a more suitable location that would not impact the free and safe flow of pedestrian traffic on a public sidewalk and allow for safe exit/entry to a business when a protestor became violent, struck a police officer, and was taken into custody,” it continues.

Judge Sragow entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Freedman, given that he is seeking his own counsel in the case, and was not represented by an attorney in court.

A pre-trial hearing has been set for December 19, but the judge ordered that Freedman “stay away from Insomnia Cookies” where he was arrested, telling him “you may not go there.”

Freedman is determined that neither he nor the union will give up their campaign.

Photograph courtesy of Le Le Lechat.