Feds: Knives Found on DNC Protester

He was one of seven people taken into custody on Wednesday night.

Security fence outside the Wells Fargo Center with protesters

If you go past this DNC fence without credentials, you WILL be arrested. (Photo by Dan McQuade)

The first batch of protesters arrested for trying to defeat the eight-foot-high security fence down at the DNC did so by going over it. The second group took a different approach.

The United States Secret Service says that it arrested seven protesters inside the security fence around 10:45 p.m. on Wednesday night. According to investigators, one of them had used bolt cutters to get through the fence at the intersection of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue.

The Secret Service has identified the protesters as Megan Munk, Natalie Fravez, Dan Nguyen, Jacob Vanbuskirk, Lincoln Bohn, Travis Martin and Jeremy Graber. Graber is accused of having three throwing knives in his possession at the time of his arrest. Ages and hometowns were not immediately available.

As with the protesters arrested on Tuesday night, the defendants are being charged with one count each of entering restricted grounds. The maximum penalty for that offense is usually one year in prison and a possible fine, but Graber could face more, if convicted. According to the United States Code, the maximum penalty is ten years if the perpetrator “carries a deadly or dangerous weapon,” and prosecutors say that this could apply to Graber.

that can be increased to ten years in prison if the perpetrator “carries a deadly or dangerous weapon,” according to the United States Code. It is unclear how prosecutors will deal with the knives they say Graber had on him.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Police Department still says that it has made no arrests, although an unknown number of protesters have been detained and, in some cases, handcuffed. A police spokesperson told Philly Mag that the majority of detained protesters are released within 20 minutes.

On Wednesday morning, police responded to a sit-in at the Comcast Center, where ten protesters chained themselves to a gate. Within an hour, they had been issued code violation notices and removed. Later that night, 34 demonstrators were issued citations after they staged a sit-in in Parking Lot T down at the DNC complex.

Wednesday’s 44 citations brings the total number for the week so far to 103. The citations come with a $50 fine.

Note: This story has been updated to reflect new information from the Department of Justice about the legal status of Graber.