Clowns Plan To Protest During NATO Summit
UPDATED 05/16/12 7:05 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A group of clowns plans on taking part in protests in Chicago during this weekend's NATO Summit.
The ClownBloq, as they call themselves, will be a group of protesters who will appear in clown suits.
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As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, while some protesters might throw a bottle of urine, the clowns say they will throw a pie.
"Joy and laughter and celebration is resistance," one member said in a Hyde Park café.
The group will be armed with 1,000 whipped cream pies, and one member said he does not expect police to take it all in stride.
"I think it will be very telling of the violence of this state to see the response of the police officers to a pie," another ClownBloq member said.
Police sources told CBS 2 that the group is one of the more radical protest organizations. They are known to wear multiple layers of clothing during demonstrations, which they peel away to avoid detection.
The ClownBloq also has a Twitter feed which repeatedly references plans to throw pies at opponents.
"Knock Knock. *Who's There?* The #MSM (mainstream media), and we want interviews. *You can haz interviewz, and piez,*" one tweet reads.
The Web site for the group says it must be "consistently reiterated that Clown Bloq is both a joke and NOT a joke." A member said the best comparison is a court jester.
"The court jester was given the ability to question the absurdity of leaders," she said.
The group says its intention is to be "both disarming and tactically militant," and its members are trained in "hard blocks, soft blocks, de-arrest techniques as well as other historically significant tactics."
The group also provides basic training in clowning.
