Occupy Long Beach has been occupying the sidewalk next to Lincoln Park since Saturday. We have been told that the city will not allow tents or protesters in the park after 10pm.
Last night at Lincoln Park in Long Beach California, five wonderful protesters refused to leave the grass when the park closed for the day. They sat inside tents while the police used a loudspeaker to tell us the park was closed and that anyone on the grass or in the tent was in violation. I didn't have the courage to do what they did, and I'm so grateful for their sacrifice. Of the five peaceful protesters, one was a retiree and one was 17 years old. We didn't realize he was 17, but many of us agree he has a strong voice and we are glad he is on our side. I was told by the first protester to be cited that the police were kind in the way they handled him and it looks like they were with the three other protesters too.
We have video of the last three arrests up on YouTube. The second arrest starts at 4:37 and the third starts at 7:40. One protester chose to leave the tent before the police began processing protesters. The first and second protesters were given citations, and the third and fourth were arrested. The third man is still currently being detained. His bail has been set at $10,000. We were told he will be arraigned on Tuesday morning. The fourth protester was released into his parent's custody last night.
The police left us alone for the rest of the night, except for asking us to clear part of the sidewalk a few hours after the arrests. This was a pleasant change from the previous night when the strategy was to not allow us to sleep.
Long Beach is a very different political situation than LA. We do not have city council backing us in a significant way so far. We are all going to the city council meeting on Tuesday night, and we continue to negotiate with the city. If you want to help please call George Chapjian, Director of Parks Recreation and Marine. His contact information is (562) 570-3170 or e-mail george.chapjian@ longbeach.gov. He has the power to allow tents in Lincoln Park. We would appreciate calls to him asking his to allow tents and to change the hours of operation of the park to 24 hours.
The Port of Long Beach is the second busiest seaport in the country. The City of Long Beach as spent in excess of $750 million public dollars into its downtown tourism industry since the early 1980s. There is a Hyatt Regency very near Lincoln Park, and the worker's union at the Hyatt has been very involved in the struggle to gain living wages for hotel workers. Occupy Long Beach is not getting a lot of attention yet but we have many dedicated activists, and many people in Long Beach feel that it is time there was more transparency and responsiveness to citizen concerns.
You can get updates on our Facebook Page and @OccupyLB. Later today we will be posting a food and other needs list on Facebook.
As a personal aside, I think that picture of Jonah wearing a suit and resisting arrest in a peaceful non-violent way should go viral. He is a courageous high school student out there speaking truth to power.