After Dan Kaufman’s Disco Trike was confiscated by Portland police during protests last Wednesday, activists are now increasing pressure on City Hall to release it.
In a blog post this morning, PDX Bike Swarm claimed that, “the police had no reason to confiscate it and we want it back.” In addition to impounding his trike, Kaufman says police ripped his video camera out of his hand and handcuffed him.
Now PDX Bike Swarm has issued a threat to Mayor Sam Adams:
If the Disco Trike is not released by Friday, February 3rd, in full working condition, the PDX Bike Swarm will be forced to swarm the mayors office to ask more directly for its release. Anybody that wants to join the swarm is more than welcome, as we know the Bike Swarm are not the only ones that really appreciate the Disco Trike’s presence. Hopefully it won’t come to this, but if it does, stay tuned for details… We are giving the mayor a choice: either release the Disco Trike by Friday, or we will swarm to its defense!
Mayor Adams is aware of the situation and tweeted this a few minutes ago:
Adams’ attention to this issue might have something to do with the fact that the confiscation of the trike found its way onto the front page of widely read politics blog DailyKos on Thursday.
In addition to having his trike impounded, Kaufman was given a citation for “Unlawful Operation of Sound Producing Equipment.” His court date is February 13th. Kaufman also caught some of the incident on video:
Stay tuned to the Free Disco Trike Facebook page for updates or follow #freesdiscotrike on Twitter.
UPDATE, 1:37pm: Dan Kaufman has been notified by Mayor Adams that the trike will be released today. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Just remembered this video I shot of the Disco Trike in action back in June 2008!
