Arrest at Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market

On July 27, 2019 at approximately 10:20 a.m., Bloomington Police Department officers were requested at the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market regarding a protestor who was holding a sign and pacing in front of a vendor booth. Responding officers were advised by staff from the Parks and Recreation Department, the City Department responsible for the Farmers’ Market, that they wished for officers to make contact with the protestor to reiterate their requests that she relocate to a designated area to protest.  As a matter of longstanding practice, pamphleting or displaying signage (aside from vendors’ promotional materials) is restricted from the vendors’ area, a guideline about which Parks officials repeatedly informed the protestor.   
 
After denying repeated requests from BPD officers that she relocate, the protestor was was informed that if she failed to relocate, she would be placed under arrest for Criminal Trespass. The protestor again stated that she was not willing to move, so she was taken into custody.  The protestor was transported to the Monroe County Jail without further incident and remanded to the custody of jail staff for the charge of Criminal Trespass, a class A misdemeanor.

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For more information on rules of the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market, please visit the link below:

https://bloomington.in.gov/sites/default/files/2019-07/Farmers%27%20Market%20Standards%20of%20Behavior.pdf