University Avenue, downtown Palo Alto’s commercial and social hub, witnessed its second anarchist protest in just over a month, Saturday night. The demonstration, dubbed “anarchist” due to the prevalent presence of members of the Anarchist Action organization and its supporters, ended with no apparent property damage or injuries, minus the pepper-spraying of one of the procession members by a police officer.

The protest, by some estimates anticipated to feature a crowd of 800 to 1000 people, according to Saturday’s San Jose Mercury News, saw a larger gathering than the May 22 protest (150 people), but was of significantly less consequence. In the previous event, the protesters shattered an American Express office window with a pole, looted University’s Longs Drugs store, and damaged the hood and windshield of a parked car. Saturday, the injury incurred by the procession partaker was the only reported harm to person or property.

Despite the relative decrease in ‘direct action,’ as the protest members put it, the intent of the crowd was clearer this time around. The demonstration kicked off on a quiet note, with petitioners for repeal of the Patriot Act (from Poets Against War), for an end to war (from Veterans for Peace), and other independent activists congregating in Lytton Plaza, the focal point of the protest. Within 20 minutes, Anarchist Action and its representatives took the stage with a speech given by a man shrouded in bandana and hood. The speaker acknowledged the violent stereotype attributed to anarchists and went so far as to confirm it.

“We are dangerous not because we advocate violence; we are dangerous not because we are violent; we are dangerous because of what we believe about violence,” the speaker said.

He proceeded to explain that in modern society, there are two forms of violence: the immediate and individual, as in the incidence of a mugging; and the general, essentially an injustice faced by many.

“Would you prefer to be walking down the street and to be accosted by a mugger, who takes the contents of you wallet… or would you prefer the break-up of your family, watching your kids go hungry? I’ll leave you with that thought,” the speaker said, illustrating the belief that widespread suffering caused by society should be dealt with before all else, even at the expense of some personal safety.

The procession then headed down University, meeting police blockades at several intersections, and ultimately tracing its steps back to Lytton Plaza. In somewhat of a surprise move, the crowd moved further up University and entered Stanford Shopping Center, disregarding a potential trespassing infraction on Stanford private property. Finally, the group arrived back at Lytton Plaza and was surrounded by police barricades. Police requested that the demonstrators leave the downtown area via University towards El Camino, the only road leaving from the square that was not blocked. The prompting, however, resulted in little more than a 30 minute sit-down protest by the leaders of the procession.

Despite the police’s eventual quelling of the protest, the apparent leaders were content with the outcome, at least in terms of the goals they had laid out ahead of time, if not with the police’s behavior.

“We actually went to symbolic places like Stanford Shopping Center, which is representative of consumerism,” said Palo Alto High School junior Nick Nordlinger, who led the pack for much of the way. “The places were relevant so I think the results were a lot better than last time.”

Aside from the staunch stance taken by the police, a relatively relaxed ambience spread across downtown, both prior to and during the protest. Longs Drugs and Borders, two businesses affected by the last demonstration, took “elementary precautions” but made no news-worthy preparations for the event, according to managers on the floor in both stores.

“At a certain point, you just have to trust your community,” Borders co-manager Gary Corduan said.