Feminist protesters chanted outside the New York City courthouse where Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault case is being tried.
The protesters zeroed in on Weinstein, President Trump, and God while participating in chants inspired by Chilean activists. The group shouted: “And the rapist is you! And the rapist is you! It’s the cops! It’s the judges! It’s the system! It’s the president! It’s the present state! It’s a macho rapist!”
The group targeted so-called victim-blamers, yelling: “It’s rape! It’s not my fault, not where I was, not how I dressed!” The protesters also blamed society as a whole and seemingly even God, chanting: “Patriarchy is our judge! God imprisons us at birth! And our punishment is the violence you can’t see!”
Shouting, “The rapist is you!” directly at the courthouse where Harvey Weinsten is currently on trial was cathartic.
(I’m in the green bandanna for solidarity w Argentine women ??✊?) #LasTesis #ItsNotOurFault #MeToo pic.twitter.com/mJaID18eRV
— Kate “Ratify ERA & also NO War with Iran” Kelly (@Kate_Kelly_Esq) January 10, 2020
“The rapist is you” the activists say as they point toward the court building.
— Lauren Aratani (@LaurenAratani) January 10, 2020
LIVE: Inspired by the feminist Chilean group #LASTESIS, feminists are staging a creative action outside the Weinstein trial and throughout New York City to confront systemic violence across the globe. https://t.co/nwKXu5JRkl
— Alyssa Klein (@dj_diabeatic) January 10, 2020
Protesters alternated between chants in English and Spanish while dancing in the streets on Friday. Weinstein’s trial started earlier this week. The Hollywood producer faces charges of rape and other sex crimes stemming from accusations made by production assistant Mimi Haleyi and another unnamed victim. Judges have already elevated Weinstein’s bond for nearly 60 violations of his parole that were captured by his ankle monitor.
Weinstein also faces charges for sex crimes in Los Angeles, which dropped on the day his trial began in New York. The district attorney for Los Angeles, Jackie Lacey, alleged that the filmmaker “used his power and influence to gain access to his victims” before assaulting them.
