In a raid this morning, the city of Oakland used riot gear-clad police to evict the Occupy Oakland tent city. “It feels pretty sad because we built a community here, and now they can just come and destroy it,” said Lisa Bitar, one of the protesters.
Outraged by the action taken against Occupy Oakland, Dan Siegel, who had been serving as mayor Jean Quan’s legal advisor, decided to resign today. On Twitter, he wrote that he was resigning to support Occupy Oakland and oppose the 1 percent:
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Riot-clad law enforcement officers cleared out Oakland's weeks-old anti-Wall Street encampment just before dawn Monday, arresting Occupy demonstrators and removing tents from a downtown plaza after issuing several warnings over the weekend.
A line of police stand staged at an Occupy Oakland encampment in Oakland, Calif., early Monday, Nov. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Protesters appeared to put up little resistance and officers could be seen calmly leading some demonstrators away in plastic handcuffs. Warnings from authorities had been similar to those issued before officers used tear gas and bean bag projectiles to clear the encampment on Oct. 25.
Police made more than 20 arrests during Monday's raid, Mayor Jean Quan said.
After officers blocked off the streets surrounding Frank Ogawa Plaza, some demonstrators gathered near the barricades and vowed to return.
"I don't see how they're going to disperse us," 30-year-old Ohad Meyer said. "There are thousands of people who are going to come back."
The action came a day after police drove hundreds of anti-Wall Street demonstrators from weeks-old encampments in Portland, arresting more than 50 people.
Oakland officials stepped up calls for an end to their city's encampment after a man was shot and killed Thursday near the plaza. Police issued a fourth cease and desist order Sunday night telling demonstrators they couldn't camp there.
Quan had allowed protesters to reclaim the disbanded site after facing criticism following the Oct. 25 raid. The camp grew substantially afterward, although city officials said on Sunday the number of tents has dropped by about 30 to 150 since Nov. 8.
"We really tried to make this a safe and peaceful day," Quan told The Associated Press after the tents were taken down Monday. "Even though there are those who disagree with my decision, we hope it is peaceful. We need them to honor and respect our city and keep it safe."
Protesters would be allowed to return to the plaza after the tents were cleared out, but they wouldn't be allowed to spend the night, the mayor said.
"We've been consistent that they can use it as a free speech location," she said. "They can gather tonight, but no camping is allowed."
On Sunday, friends confirmed that an Iraq War veteran who was injured in the Oct. 25 raid, Scott Olsen, has been released from the hospital. Olsen, who suffered a skull fracture, became a rallying point for protesters nationwide.
Dottie Guy of Iraq Veterans Against the War said Sunday Olsen was released last week. He can now read and write, but still has trouble talking, she added.
Officials across the country have been urging an end to similar gatherings in the wake of three deaths in different cities, including two deaths by gunfire.
Demands for Oakland protesters to pack up increased after a man was shot and killed Thursday near the encampment site.
Protesters had said that there was no connection between the shooting and the camp. But police Sunday night identified the slain man as 25-year-old Kayode Ola Foster of Oakland, saying his family confirmed he had been staying at the plaza.
Police officer Johnna Watson said witnesses have told police that one of two suspects in the shooting had also been a frequent resident at the plaza. The suspects' names haven't been released.
Investigators suspect that the shooting resulted from a fight between two groups of men.
In the hours after the midnight Saturday eviction deadline in Portland, the anti-Wall Street protesters and their supporters had flooded the park area. At one point, the crowd swelled to thousands. As dawn arrived, riot police had retreated and most of the crowds had gone home, but protesters who have been at the two parks since Oct. 6 were still there, prompting one organizer to declare the night a victory for the movement.
"We stood up to state power," Jim Oliver told The Associated Press.
It didn't last. Police moved in later. An officer on a loudspeaker warned that anyone who resisted risked arrest and "may also be subject to chemical agents and impact weapons." Demonstrators chanted "we are a peaceful protest."
"We were talking about what we were going to do and then they just started hitting people. Seems like a waste of resources to me," protester Mike Swain, 27, told the AP.
One man was taken away on a stretcher; he was alert and talking to paramedics, and raised a peace sign to fellow protesters, who responded with cheers.
City officials erected temporary chain-link fences with barbed wire at the top around three adjacent downtown parks, choking off access for demonstrators as parks officials cleaned up.
Portland Mayor Sam Adams Sunday defended his order to clear the park, saying it is his job to enforce the law and keep the peace. "This is not a game," Adams said.
Officials said that one officer suffered minor injuries. Police had prepared for a possible clash, warning that dozens of anarchists may be planning a confrontation with authorities.
In other cities over the weekend:
— In Salt Lake City, police arrested 19 people Saturday when protesters refused to leave a park a day after a man as found dead inside his tent at the encampment.
— In Albany, N.Y., police arrested 24 Occupy Albany protesters after they defied an 11 p.m. curfew in a state-owned park.
— In Denver, authorities arrested four people as they forced protesters to leave a downtown encampment.
— In San Francisco, police said two demonstrators attacked two police officers in separate incidents during a march, leaving them with minor injuries. The assailants couldn't be located.
OAKLAND, Calif. — City leaders across the U.S. felt increasing pressure Friday to shut down Occupy protest encampments after two men died in shootings and two others were found dead inside their tents this week.
One was found dead Friday inside a tent at the Occupy Salt Lake City encampment, from what police said was a combination of drug use and carbon monoxide from a propane heater.
On Thursday, a man was shot and killed at the Occupy Oakland camp in California, and a military veteran apparently shot himself to death in a tent at an encampment in Burlington, Vermont.
The deaths come after a 53-year-old man was found dead inside a tent at the Occupy New Orleans encampment on Tuesday. The Times-Picayune newspaper reported that he appeared to have been dead for two days.
Some officials have responded with both pleas and orders for protesters to leave.
Citing a strain on crime-fighting resources, police asked Occupy Oakland protesters to leave their encampment at the City Hall plaza where the man was shot and killed late Thursday.
The Oakland Police Officer's Association issued an open letter saying the camp is pulling officers away from crime-plagued neighborhoods.
"With last night's homicide, in broad daylight, in the middle of rush hour, Frank Ogawa Plaza is no longer safe," the letter said. "Please leave peacefully, with your heads held high, so we can get police officers back to work fighting crime in Oakland neighborhoods."
On Friday night, police said, one man sought in connection with the Oakland shooting was a frequent resident of the Occupy Oakland encampment.
Oakland police also handed out eviction notices, but angry campers tore them all up, according to a report in the Oakland Tribune.
Since the shooting, anonymous fliers have been posted around the encampment urging protesters to leave.
"Occupiers, turn on your brains and see the harm you are causing to our town," it says. "You have devolved into mob rule. You have lost sight of the goal."
City Council President Larry Reid said outside City Hall that the shooting was further proof the tents must come down. He was confronted by a protester who said he wouldn't be in office much longer.
"You didn't elect me," Reid snapped back. "You probably ain't even registered to vote!"
Reid said the encampment has been a major setback for the area while attracting sex offenders, mentally ill and homeless people, and anarchists.
"This is no longer about Occupy Wall Street," he said. "This is about occupying Oakland and extracting whatever you can get out of Oakland by holding our city hostage."
The Oakland shooting occurred the same day the 35-year-old military veteran apparently fatally shot himself in the head in a tent at the Vermont encampment.
The shooting raised questions about whether the protest would be allowed to continue, said Burlington police Deputy Chief Andi Higbee.
"Our responsibility is to keep the public safe. When there is a discharge of a firearm in a public place like this, it's good cause to be concerned, greatly concerned," Higbee said.
In the Salt Lake City protest camp, the discovery of the dead man, believed to be in his 40s, led police to order all protesters to leave the park where they have camped for weeks.
Group organizers said many of the roughly 150 protesters plan to go to jail rather than leave.
"We don't even know if this is a tragedy or just natural," protest organizer Jesse Fruhwirth said. "They're scapegoating Occupy."
Tensions were also high at the 300-tent encampment in Portland, Oregon, which has become a hub for the city's homeless people and addicts.
Mayor Sam Adams ordered the camp shut down by midnight Saturday, pointing to two non-fatal drug overdoses at the camp.
"I cannot wait for someone to die," he said. "I cannot wait for someone to use the camp as camouflage to inflict bodily harm on others."
Many at the camp said they would resist any effort to remove them.
"There will be a variety of tactics used," said organizer Adriane DeJerk, 26. "No social movement has ever been successful while being completely peaceful."
