More Evictions, Police Standoffs Across Occupy Movement
Protesters of the Occupy Wall Street movement have held their ground in cities across the country, even as increasing pressure from police and local governments threaten to boot them from their encampments. Here is the latest from around the country:
Occupy Wall Street
To mark its two month anniversary since overtaking downtown Manhattan and spurring an international movement against corporate greed, Occupy Wall Street protesters will stage their most ambitious demonstration yet. On Nov. 17 the group plans to shut down the New York Stock Exchange and "throw a block party the 1% will never forget," according to its Facebook page. That same day, an organized takeover of multiple subway lines and a massive march from City Hall to the Brooklyn Bridge are also expected.
Occupy Oakland
"A raid of the camp seems absolutely imminent," said Shon Kae, of Occupy Oakland, to The Oakland Tribune, "but it is important to get our facts right, or we risk breeding fear and paranoia at times when people should be thinking clearly and making decisions based on clear thought and facts." The facts from Thursday’s homicide outside the Occupy Oakland encampment have brought more pressure from police to clear the grounds, though authorities are still trying to determine if the victim was related to the Occupy Oakland movement. On Friday and again on Saturday, police handed out eviction notices by order of Mayor Jean Quan that ordered the removal of demonstrators from several parks in the downtown area, where demonstrators have been living for a month. City officials say the warnings have dropped the tent census from 180 last Tuesday to 160.
Occupy Salt Lake City
In Salt Lake City, police arrested 19 people on Saturday night who refused to leave after police revoked the allowance for them to camp in a park overnight. The eviction came one day after a man in Pioneer Park had been found dead inside his tent. Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank said that the occupation would have to end and that protesters had until dusk on Saturday to vacate. Before that deadline approached on Saturday night, the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office said that protesters will still be allowed to have a 24-hour presence and one building. They will not be able to camp overnight, and anyone who does so will be arrested, Burbank said, according to a Salt Lake City news station. Protesters argue that the so-called compromise restricts their First Amendment right to assembly.
Occupy Denver
Police in riot gear cleared out the tent city erected in Civic Center Park in Denver on Saturday night. According to police spokesperson, 17 people were arrested during the confrontation. About five hours earlier, Occupy Denver protesters marched through downtown, their sixth march in that many days. Beginning on Thursday, police have warned demonstrators about ordinances against blocking sidewalks with personal property. People are still allowed to sleep on the sidewalk but they are "not allowed to set up homestead," Sonny Jackson, spokesperson for the Denver Police Department, told The Denver Post.
Occupy Portland
Anti-Wall Street protesters in Oregon who ignored a midnight Saturday eviction order used pallets and old furniture, wood debris and even a bicycle to set up makeshift barricades on either end of a street that runs through the encampment, in an apparent attempt to snarl traffic. At the peak of action, thousands of demonstrators reportedly gathered in the city’s core. They pushed against the police line on several streets and, at one point, police threatened to use chemical agents to keep control. Shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, a police officer suffered a gash in his leg from a projectile thrown from the crowd, The Oregonian reports. Mayor Sam Adams and Police Chief Mike Reese said officers will be ready to make arrests, but hoped people will leave the parks peacefully.