#Occupation update

Occupy San Francisco protesters 'given five-minute warning' to clear camp

Police arrest about 70 people during overnight raid to clear Occupy camp at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco

the Guardian,

7 November, 2011

"It was 1.30 in the morning, they gave everyone a five-minute warning to evacuate, then started arresting people, smashing tents… what they did in Zuccotti, and everywhere else, too."

So it was that Occupy San Francisco became the latest occupation to be evicted, after a period which has seen camps in Wall Street, Oakland and beyond also cleared.

"There were a lot of tears," added Scott Rossi, who has been involved in OccupySF since September. "The thing about a lot of the occupations is the people that camp there have nowhere to go, so there were a lot of tears from that portion."

Several hundred police were involved in the eviction, with around 70 protesters arrested. Rossi told the Guardian the operation was "like a lightning raid", with a sudden police presence swiftly moving protesters out of their base at Justin Herman plaza.

"There were only three major Occupy camps left," Rossi said. "San Francisco, Boston and Seattle." He said people had already been leaving the occupation due to the threat of police raids.

"We knew our time was coming."

California-based Mercury News reported that the bulk of the arrests took place in two different locations as protesters attempted to resist the eviction.

Of the arrests, at least two stemmed from assaults on officers, said police chief Greg Suhr, who added that one officer was hit in his face shield with a metal chair. The officer was not seriously injured. There didn't appear to be any serious injuries among protesters either.

Protesters said they awoke to find police circling the camp, and reported that officers gave them about five minutes to pick up their belongings and get out. About 30 were arrested during the raid, with another 30 or so arrested while blocking Market Street after the police action. Roughly 10 more were taken into custody during a second blockage of market.

The San Francisco Chronicle quoted a police spokesman as confirming that protesters were only given five minutes to leave the camp, and reported that police said the eviction came after a breakdown in communications between police and protesters.

Police chief Greg Suhr said talks with the camp residents had broken down, forcing police to move in. He said a new crew of campers had taken over the place, and the individuals that officials had been working with were no longer there.

"Negotiations had broken down," Suhr said. "We weren't getting our emails returned."

Suhr told reporters: "Most of the people in this neighborhood are part of the 99%, and they needed some relief. So this part of the 99% removed that part of the 99% to give the other part of the 99% some relief."

Many protesters were concerned about the whereabouts – and welfare – of their belongings, Rossi said. When Occupy Wall Street was evicted protesters complained that books and other items were damaged by police. Video footage posted to YouTube showed items from the camp, including a tent frame being thrown into the back of a garbage truck.

"I saw books being tossed into the back of dumpster trucks, also an American flag, which is very timely given it's the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbour," Rossi said. "The garbage trucks were compacting things."

This morning, the plaza was empty of Occupiers and being professionally cleaned, with a small group of protesters watching on, but Rossi said Occupy San Francisco would not be cowed.

There's a lot of people who are angry. For myself it's very constructive anger. It's making us work harder now, and work smarter too. We've been planning for this, we knew it was coming. We have pop-up occupations in operation right now. We're also having a rally at 12pm and a full-on general assembly at 6pm.

Police arrest Occupy DC protesters

RT
At least 60 protesters were arrested today in Washington during theOccupy DC protest, many severely beaten by police. 

The activists braved the rain and cold on K street - the historical lobbying hub of the US capital as they barricaded four key intersections. 

Most of the protesters arrested were charged with blocking one of the busiest highways in the city.

Economic protesters target Washington lobbyists

(Reuters) - Police arrested economic protesters in Washington on Wednesday as they blocked streets and disrupted traffic in an area famous as a center for the offices of lobbyists.

The demonstrators said the lobbyists represent the corporations that -- along with the country's richest people -- they think have too much of the nation's power and wealth.

The Washington actions came as elsewhere in the country authorities continued to move against encampments of the Occupy movement that aims to change the U.S. economic system.

Police dismantled a tent city of Occupy protesters in downtown San Francisco early on Wednesday, arresting more than 50 people as they shut down the largest remaining Occupy encampment on the West Coast.

In Denver, a federal judge on Wednesday denied Occupy Denver's request for a restraining order against police, rejecting the group's contention police had illegally enforced ordinances to suppress its protest.

San Francisco authorities had repeatedly warned Occupy protesters to move from the public plaza at the foot of Market Street in recent weeks and tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a move to another location.

San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr said there were about 100 people in the camp when the police moved in early on Wednesday, and about 100 officers took part in the action.

Authorities in many U.S. cities, often citing health and safety conditions, have dismantled protest camps that sprang from the original Occupy movement in New York against economic inequality and perceived excesses of the U.S. financial system.

WASHINGTON EXCEPTION

An exception to that is Washington, D.C., where Occupy encampments have remained in place and on occasion the protesters have been joined by other groups with similar aims.

This week union and church organizations, among others, are participating in a "Take Back the Capitol" effort that saw sit-ins at Congressional offices on Tuesday. Undeterred by sporadic rain, the protests concentrated on K Street, where many corporate lobbyists have offices.

Occupy DC protesters had announced a march of their own in the same area. Some Occupy protesters are wary of too closely identifying themselves with groups such as unions, which they see as politically partisan.

At one corner, Occupy protesters tried to build a barricade. They pushed tents, garbage cans and newspaper vending machines into the intersection.

Police on horseback forced the crowd out of the street and clear of the debris. They issued warnings and started making arrests, as some of the group laid down in the street.

The crowd chanted "Whose streets? Our streets" and "This is what democracy looks like."

A Reuters reporter saw dozens of protesters being removed by police. In late afternoon police said they were still tallying the arrest total but that it was more than 11. More arrests could come later in the day, with Occupy planning actions at the White House and Supreme Court.

"This is the only thing we have. The world is the only thing we have and we need to protect it. We need to protect the environment and each other because it's the only home we have," said Haley Freeman, an Occupy protester from Florida.

Separately from the Occupy group, representatives of "Take Back the Capital" marched on five locations of lobbying firms protesting against alleged corporate greed and the interaction of government with corporations.

Jerome Wilson, 52, an environmental services worker from Pittsburgh, told Reuters he had come to Washington with a church group for the protests.

Asked why, he said: "It's about strengthening the people because that one percent is taking away everything from us. We're basically back in debtors' prison again."

The "one percent" is a common reference among protesters to the idea that a tiny minority in the country has more wealth and power than is fair, at the expense of the majority.

As authorities have moved against Occupy encampments in an increasing number of cities, some local activists say they are now turning their attention to the foreclosure crisis and will "occupy" homes to prevent evictions.