I had planned on posting a diary this weekend on Occupy San Jose. San Jose is not known for wild protest. The group I met last week were the usual mix of students, parents, kids, teachers and everyday working class citizens that I’ve seen at local rallies before. We live in an area that enjoys a peaceful lifestyle. We are busy working on inventing the next iMac and such. Some of the most progressive members of congress come from Silicon Valley.
Today word came out that the small group spending the night might face arrest.
San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle said it's illegal to camp out at City Hall overnight, typically past 11:30 p.m. "Bottom line is, we prohibit camping, we prohibit staying overnight," Doyle said. "You're entitled to come during the day and protest and assemble and picket or whatever you want to do. I don't think it's uncommon for cities to ban camping at public facilities."
"Occupying is a symbol of the movement across the nation," said Elaine Brown, a San Jose resident and attorney who is helping to represent the Occupy San Jose members. "We've been trying to work with the city so that we can exercise our First Amendment rights here in a congenial manner."
Brown and others also pointed out that the site where the five nylon tents have been erected near the corner of East Santa Clara and Fourth streets is being kept clean and litter-free, and that none of the protesters is using drugs or alcohol.
San Jose Mercury News
Arrests would be unfortunate and we can only hope the city relents. The college students who organized the event were inspired and reasonable, they are not likely to do anything but stand peacefully and be arrested. In fact, they had previously been thanked by police officers - no animosity should be expected by the police. Stay strong "Occupy San Jose", we the 99% stand with you as you stand for us.
Sat Oct 08, 2011 at 9:21 AM PT: Police backed down...about 150ish people when I left at midnight...tents were moved to local Peace and Justice center's parking lot to avoid arrest.