Occupy Denver is hoping to gather 10,000 signatures on Occupy a petition protesting over 50 arrests over the past few days.
Of the original 24 protesters arrested, only five required bail in order to be released, and then only because of previous criminal records. The stakes were raised significantly, however, when all of the 26 protesters arrested in the second round required bonds-- a sign that the legal system is hardening its approach to the occupation. Bailing volunteers out of jail means paying a portion of their bail rates up front, but it often also requires another volunteer co-signing their release as a responsible party. Link
The petition at change.org entitled "Petitioning Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper" calls on the governor to desist from arrests of members of Occupy Denver.
The #occupyeverywhere protests have attracted thousands of supporters in Denver, Colorado but Governor Hickenlooper has indefinitely closed the park where the action takes place. People have been arrested for participating in the strategy of occupation and the modest infrastructure built on community donations was destroyed by the police. We do not support the arrests and we will not support John Hickenlooper in his next election if the arrests continue. If the people's strategy is occupation, their First Amendment rights should be honored and an injunction against the no camping law should be installed.
So far, 2150 have signed the petition.
Meanwhile, the Denver Post reported yesterday that Occupy Denver is stressing 'nonviolence' and understanding of the police just one day after their clash with local officers resulted in numerous arrests and reports of the use of pepper-spray. Several of the protestors yesterday were even carrying signs reading"Police are the 99% Too."
Hundreds of people were forced Friday morning from their campsite in Veteran Park outside the State Capitol in a police raid which resulted in nearly two dozen arrests. The raid had been ordered by Gov. Hickenlooper. The misdemeanor charge - “Unlawful Conduct on Public Property" -carries a sentence between 3 months and 1 year in jail.
In a Fox31 article on the demonstration and the earlier arrests, The Colorado State Patrol said apparently none of those arrested were associated directly with the occupiers.
“The people that we were dealing with…the more antagonistic, the more aggressive ones…the ones who were breaking the law and were sticking around in violation of the curfew and in violation of state law they were not representative of Occupy Denver,” CSP Sgt. Mike Sanchez told FOX31.
In the same article, Rick Reimer, an Occupy Denver organizer, said the arrested individuals were part of a "small splinter group...that hadn’t been there before at all. They were wearing black capes and different things, and were trying to stir it up.”
“We have people from all walks of life,” said an Occupy Denver protestor. “We have grandmas. We have kids. We haveRepublicans. We have Democrats. We have Libertarians. This is not a movement for one type of people. This is everybody being angry with how this country is being run.” FOX31
Occupy Denver Sources
* Occupy Denver Livestream(currently offline)
*Occupy Denver on Facebook
* Occupy Denver Website
* Occupy Denver on Twitter
Photos by Lizzy Leighty
Some additional signage from Denver.
12:31 PM PT: These photos were shot on Saturday, October 15, at the Occupy Denver March by my daughter, Lizzy Leighty. At the same day, I was marching in San Francisco with Occupy San Francisco, which I wrote about in 1 in 6: Dive! Share! Feed. In a movement which paralleled what happened in Denver's camp in the early hours of the morning last Friday, at 12AM Sunday, Police entered OSF with garbage trucks and DPW vehicles and totally dismantled the camp. I called the Mayor's office in SF yesterday, protesting the fact that they threw away so much food. I informed the mayor's representative just how much food was there -- GOOD FRESH FOOD - as I had been in the camp the previous evening and was told they were turning away offers of food because they had too much. I said what an outrageous policy this was, given the fact that San Francisco has one of the largest homeless populations in the nation and that in the US today 1 in 6 people are food insecure.
I was told that in the future, when they clear out these camps, they will take this into consideration and send a separate vehicle in to pick up the food to distribute to food banks and other places to feed the homeless. use the food to feed the city's homeless and distribute to food banks. The policy regarding the other materials picked up -- camps, tarps, clothing, shoes, suitcases, backpacks -- is to save them for pickup a few days after the camps are torn down.