The Colorado State Patrol and Denver Police began clearing the Occupy Denver tent camp just after 3 a.m. Friday morning.
The protesters set up dozens of tents on state land and many of them did not leave when the state's curfew went into effect at 11 p.m. Thursday night, despite an order from the governor and repeated requests from the Colorado State Patrol.
9News
Xcel [power company: ba] was on the scene, trying to cut power to the tent city. Officials say the protesters tapped into the electricity of park structures (like lighting fixtures, etc.) to run their equipment. Xcel is repairing the damage the protesters caused, structure by structure.
Damage? I suspect this is like the $7M damage to the Wisconsin Capital building. How much damage does it do to plug in an extension cord?
Mark Silverstein, the ACLU legal director, felt that the posting of tents could be a "symbolic speech that's protected by the First Amendment."
"I'm not saying they have a legal right in court to keep those tents there," Silverstein went on to say. "We'd ask the question: Is there a way the government can accommodate the expression without having to shut it down, without having to clear people out of the park?
Denver Post has more.
A handful of people have been arrested as police in riot gear moved into the Occupy Denver camp in front of the Colorado Capitol early this morning to dismantle tents and remove debris.
The initial order to disperse came shortly before 3 a.m., but arrests weren't made until after 6 a.m.
Around 6:25 this morning, police marched lock-step through the camp, moving protesters into the street
Evidently protesters were given a choice as to whether they would leave or face arrest.
The protesters who would not leave were isolated by police, read their Miranda rights, restrained with plastic ties and then taken into custody.
Vince Lopez, 24, was among the protesters who had his Miranda rights read to him.
His wife, Chelsea Champ-Lopez, 22, said they are college students and have been there for days. She was crying as they took her husband into custody.
It appears that Hickenlooper or Denver Mayor Michael Hancock have decided to make the use of Lincoln Park illegal for any purpose at all in order to facilitate shutting down Occupy Denver.
The protesters — who were told Thursday afternoon they had to leave the park by 11 p.m. — had hoped that if they held their ground until 5 a.m., when the park typically reopens, they would be able to resume their protest.
But the Colorado State Patrol announced this morning that the park had been closed indefinitely, by executive order.
Here is a Google Map of the area. As you can see the park is located just west of the state Capitol.
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