Occupy Member Arrested in Boca Raton Has a Bit of a History Doing Publicity Stunts

For one of the three Occupy protesters arrested yesterday in Boca Raton, this is at least her fourth publicity stunt involving police -- one of those incidents involving her wearing clown makeup and having to be forcibly removed from a tree.That's 31-year-old Ana Rodriguez who was hit with charges of...

By Matthew Hendley

January 24, 2012

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For one of the three Occupy protesters arrested yesterday in Boca Raton, this is at least her fourth publicity stunt involving police -- one of those incidents involving her wearing clown makeup and having to be forcibly removed from a tree.

That's 31-year-old Ana Rodriguez who was hit with charges of resisting a police officer without violence, obstructing a highway, and violating a municipal ordinance yesterday -- along with her two pals -- while lying in the middle of the street protesting the GAIM USA conference.

Rodriguez, according to the environmentalist publication she's listed as the editor of, is "a member of the Night Heron Grassroots Activist Center, organizer with Everglades Earth First! and the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition, and Coalition for Immigrants Rights."

According to a 2009 Palm Beach Post story, Rodriguez was arrested at Lake Worth City Hall for jumping up and yelling in the face of newly elected commissioner in the middle of proceedings, shouting about his stance on immigration.

Sure enough, a sheriff's deputy was there to cuff her and cite her for disturbing a public assembly.

Then there was her stunt on April Fool's Day last year, in which she hopped up into a tree -- in full clown getup -- outside Palm Beach Gardens City Hall.

Video of the event shows police taking a ride on the cherry picker to get her out of the tree, as she was led off in handcuffs.

Next was an attempted protest of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio while he was giving a speech in Orlando in November, when she had to be dragged outside by people who actually wanted to listen to the self-proclaimed "America's toughest sheriff."

Then there was yesterday's run-in with law enforcement, as she was in some sort of triangle formation with two other people right in the middle of the Camino Real Bridge before being hauled off to get her picture taken at the Palm Beach County Jail.

According to the Occupy Miami Facebook page, the three people arrested were part of the Occupy Miami and Occupy West Palm Beach groups.

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