Protester who tried to make citizen’s arrest of Corbett arrested

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

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The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign held a demonstration with parents, students, and teachers from Moffet, Masterman, and Penn Treaty schools at Gov. Corbett’s Philadelphia office late last week, in response to the School Reform Commission’s decision to cut teachers’ health benefits.

The action led to the arrest of parent and protest organizer Cheri Honkala.

According to a statement released by the group, demonstrators met at the governor’s office demanding an explanation for the cuts and asking that he provide full funding for Philadelphia schools. The protesters intended to have a mock auction, selling off the governor’s desks, papers, and chairs from his office to raise money for the schools. But upon entering the building, protesters found that the elevators were shut down and access to the governor’s office was blocked.

Honkala was arrested and charged with defiant trespassing and failure to disperse upon official order after she attempted to make a citizen’s arrest of Corbett for “crimes against education and our children.”

"They continue to cut back but we will continue to fight back!" the group said in a statement. "Our schools will be saved no matter how long we have to fight against this broken system! We are very proud of the students, teachers, parents, and citizens that protested alongside PPEHRC yesterday."

A court appearance for Honkala is scheduled for Nov. 13.

Shannon Nolan is an intern at the Notebook.

All photos by Harvey Finkle.