Battle of Ryesgade - September 14 Demonstration

September 14 Demonstration

The police plan was to move in at midnight on September 14 and evict the house while the squatters were still in their beds. In past evictions, the police did not assault a house until long after the moment of the deadline, and the hope was to take the squatters by surprise and minimize the time available for them to prepare their defense. A couple of days before the eviction was to take place, posters were hung up all over the city. The posters invited people to come to a demonstration in support of the house. The poster showed a large image of a burning car and the text said that it was a good idea to show up with your face masked. This did raise some eyebrows at police headquarters, but in the end the police estimated that it was just a coincidence and that nothing big was underway. The police also thought that since the demonstration was held at 10:00 pm on a Sunday, not many people would attend.

However, as the demonstration began at Rådhuspladsen, it was attended by well over 2000 masked demonstrators. They were very determined and aggressive and the police soon found themselves outmatched. As the demonstration moved towards Nørrebro, every police officer that could be spared was rushed to the demonstration. When the demonstrators reached Nørrebro, fireworks were fired in to the air, and the demonstration suddenly changed direction and started to move towards Ryesgade. By this time, more people had joined the demonstration. Squatters present in the demonstration handed out flyers with the text "The fight is on." The police found themselves unable to control the demonstration and had to watch as the demonstration moved towards Ryesgade 58. When the demonstration was within a few hundred yards of Ryesgade, people started to run. The demonstration broke through the remaining police lines, and within a couple of minutes they had entered Ryesgade. While the police had been busy handling the demonstrators, the squatters in Ryesgade 58 had moved in to the street and started to set up barbed-wire barricades. The obstacles had been prepared in advance, built over the summer in the courtyard behind the house, and they were not the only preparations the squatters had made. Most of them were wearing blue overall work suits, ski masks, and combat boots. Many of them were also wearing motorcycle helmets and carrying clubs and iron bars for close-quarters fighting with the police, and several were equipped with powerful slingshots. On top of that, several hundred Molotov cocktails were now being carried to the barricades. A large banner had been hung from the squat, reading "Rather die standing up, then living life on your knees!"

Under the supervision of the squatters, demonstrators expanded the barricades. They stole trailers and building materials from a nearby construction site to build more barricades. Soon the obstacles covered several streets, in places four or five layers deep. Cobblestones from the streets were broken up and distributed for use as missiles. Soon, the whole street had been turned into something like a fortress. After an hour, the police attacked with 50 men. They were quickly turned back by a hail of stones and iron pellets fired from slingshots. Several police officers were injured. The police then retreated, and both sides regrouped. Around 600 people, primarily youths, had chosen to remain behind the barricades and help the squatters defend the house.