Protest arrests and future protest participation: The 2004 republican national convention arrestees and the effects of repression

Abstract

Protests surrounding the 2004 Republican National Convention (RNC) resulted in over 1,800 arrests. Scholarship on repression is divided about the likely impacts of arrests on subsequent activism. Interviews with RNC arrestees are used to examine potential effects. Findings offer twists to social movements and socio-legal hypotheses: (1) while many arrestees were less willing to protest after their arrest, for many of these individuals deterrence was selective, not wholesale; (2) many factors that were expected to neutralize repressive impacts either resulted in deterrence or set the stage for radicalization; and (3) individuals who were radicalized shared strong preparation for their arrest experience.

Citation

Earl, J. (2011), "Protest arrests and future protest participation: The 2004 republican national convention arrestees and the effects of repression", Sarat, A. (Ed.) Special Issue Social Movements/Legal Possibilities (Studies in Law, Politics, and Society, Vol. 54), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 141-173. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1059-4337(2011)0000054009