Occupy Oakland, which had been going on for nearly two weeks, was
raided and torn down by police in the early hours of the morning:
The police action at the plaza near City Hall began at 4:45 a.m. and involved hundreds of officers from at least 10 law-enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, the Alameda County sheriff's office and various East Bay police departments. [...]
At 4:50 a.m., some loud bangs were heard after officers lobbed "flash-bang" grenades, and smoke rose into the air. After a protester apparently released a smoke bomb, officers began putting on gas masks. A police helicopter flew overhead with its spotlight on.
"Dozens" of protesters have been arrested and local businesses have been asked to allow employees to arrive late for work while the city cleans the site. A tweet from @OccupyOakland says "emergency reconvergence plan activated. Reconverge 4pm at oakland public library main branch 14th & madison."
6:47 AM PT (Barbara Morrill): For more discussion on this, see Lisa Lockwood's post.
8:21 AM PT: Oakland Mayor Jean Quan has issued a statement:
Many Oaklanders support the goals of the national Occupy Wall Street movement. We maintained daily communication with the protest0rs in Oakland.
However, over the last week it was apparent that neither the demonstrators nor the City could maintain safe or sanitary conditions, or control the ongoing vandalism. Frank Ogawa Plaza will continue to be open as a free speech area from 6 am to 10 pm.