Taking an immediate cue from a court decision against the occupiers, Boston's Mayor Menino has demanded that Occupiers vacate Dewey Square by midnight tonight. If they aren't gone by then? “We'll take further action,” Menino said.
According to local news sources, the occupiers are complying with the ruling, which specifically banned sleeping in the park. They would be allowed to set up tents for free speech reasons, but they would not be allowed to sleep in them. They have to vacate, and then request the city's permission to set up tents for expressive purposes.
Occupiers have told several media outlets that they are taking down tents, and planning a dance party to start at midnight tonight, the eviction deadline. They are complying with the specifics of the court's order while refusing to leave.
I'm still picking through Francis MacIntyre's ruling, but there are a number of disgusting statements in it. My favorite is this gem “little in the way of expression is outlawed under the United States Constitution, but an act which incites a lawful forceful response is unlikely to pass as expressive speech.”
Which just makes sense, considering what's happened in this movement. It makes sense considering Chicago in 1968 as well, where protesters incited the police to riot. It seems nothing makes municipal tyrants angrier than first amendment expression, and the judge is right to lay the blame for violent action on the backs of peaceful protesters.
By this logic, it should be illegal to link arms with other protesters. Police in California have called linking arms “not nonviolent.” Linking arms provoked a forceful and technically lawful response in Berkeley. Anthony Bologna was incited to pepper spray multiple people. In the sixties, the civil rights movement often incited a forceful response, which was lawful at the time. Even Jesus himself once provoked a lawful forceful response. Thankfully for the stability of the Roman Empire, it only happened once.
So we're preparing for another lawful forceful response like we've seen in the past.
HankNYNY is en route will arrive in Boston in a few minutes. He's set to Ustream, and has two batteries ready to go.
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7:49 PM PT: For our first update, we can confirm that the police passed out fliers warning occupiers that if they stayed in the park past midnight, they could be arrested for criminal trespassing.
It's almost an hour till the eviction deadline.
Dewey Square is completely packed.
7:57 PM PT: Our Ustream will be up soon, but Hank is having problems with Twitter. He's on the ground.
There are a lot of folks from across the northeast in Boston tonight.
We can confirm that a large contingent of Harvard students and professors marched over as Occupy Harvard.
8:58 PM PT: Three minutes till midnight. Scattered police presence report. Our man on the ground reports a police presence around 25. Scattered reports of larger groups nearby.
9:09 PM PT: One protester has a lamp on a pole.
One if by land...
9:13 PM PT: Police might be needed elsewhere in Boston tonight. Bruins just lost to the Panthers 2-0 in Boston. They take their hockey seriously in Boston.
10:05 PM PT: I'm watching the overhead feed. They've blocked the road.
http://www.myfoxboston.com/...
10:06 PM PT: Occupiers have occupied the roads. "Whose streets? Our streets?"
Police aren't doing anything.
10:13 PM PT: I can see on the aerial feed: the american flag flies high, surrounded by Iraq Veterans Against the War flags.
10:16 PM PT: Huge communication problem: announcements suggest no police raid while scouts report police gearing up.
Protesters chant: evict us, we'll multiply, occupy will never die!
10:36 PM PT: Superintendant evans says no eviction tonight, but scouts are still reporting riot police in the area.
Two tents have been put in Atlantic Avenue. In the street,
"Whose streets? OUR STREETS!"
10:58 PM PT: BPD Are moving into the park now. I can see a lot of yellow coats, but there are still more officers in Blue.
Fri Dec 09, 2011 at 4:01 PM PT: Hank was there all night.
Nothing happened.
That's good news.