From The Providence Journal

By David Scharfenberg

Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — A year after a confrontation with police officers in North Providence left her with severe leg injuries, union organizer Alexandra Svoboda arrived at a rally yesterday with a cane, a knee brace and a message of defiance.

“This is the true spirit of resistance,” she said. “This is people saying, ‘no.’ ”

Svoboda, secretary of the Providence branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, was among a group of protesters who clashed with the police Aug. 11, 2007, while marching on Jacky’s Galaxie, a pan-Asian restaurant on Mineral Spring Avenue.

Union members were targeting Jacky’s because the eatery purchased rice and takeout containers from Dragon Land Trading, a restaurant supply company in Queens, N.Y., with a reputation for treating its employees poorly.

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW.  The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.

By Mark Arsenault and Lynn Arditi - Providence Journal Staff Writers, Monday, August 27, 2007

NORTH PROVIDENCE — Clenched fists raised, close to 200 protesters yesterday denounced the North Providence police and demanded “justice” for a protester seriously injured two weeks ago while demonstrating at an Asian restaurant on Mineral Spring Avenue.

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW.  This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.

NORTH PROVIDENCE, RI (AP) - A labor group is planning a rally Sunday to protest a scuffle earlier this month with North Providence police.

Local members of the [Industrial] Workers of the World accuse police of attacking 22-year-old Alexandra Svoboda during a protest outside a restaurant.

Police say Svoboda attacked police officers with drum sticks.

Her knee was badly injured during the scuffle.

Pictures taken by those at the rally show it bent at a grotesque angle.

IWW spokesman Mark Bray says the group wants Attorney General Patrick Lynch to drop all criminal charges against Svoboda and other group members.

They also want him to punish the police.

North Providence police have started an internal probe into the incident.

Lynch says prosecutors from his office and State Police will review the findings.

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW.  The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.  

By Richard C. Dujardin - Providence Journal Staff Writer, Thursday, August 16, 2007

NORTH PROVIDENCE — The group that staged Saturday’s protest march in which a 22-year-old woman suffered a broken leg while being arrested by the police has invited members from across the Northeast to join another march down the center of Mineral Spring Avenue to call attention to what it says is the “prevalence of police brutality” in Rhode Island.

Disclaimer - The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective.

By Brandie Jefferson - Providence Journal, August 14, 2007 

The father of a 22-year-old who was injured Saturday during a labor union protest in North Providence has flown in from Nebraska and says his daughter is doing “as well as can be expected.”

Alexandra Svoboda suffered serious injuries after an encounter with the North Providence police during the protest outside a restaurant.

Scott Svoboda said he will not be outside during a planned vigil this afternoon at Rhode Island Hospital, where his daughter is listed as in “good” condition in the Intensive Care Unit.

Disclaimer - The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective.

By Richard Salit - Providence Journal Staff Writer, August 14, 2007

NORTH PROVIDENCE — A labor union yesterday stepped up its charges of police brutality following a demonstration at a local restaurant Saturday during which a protestor's leg was badly broken in a scuffle with officers.

The Industrial Workers of the World yesterday planned to hold a vigil today at 4 p.m. at Rhode Island Hospital for Alexandra Svoboda, 22, who was undergoing surgery for the injury to her leg. The union released pictures of Svoboda, with her leg severely bent while being subdued and arrested by officers.