26 Occupy Nashville protesters were arrested last night at Legislative Plaza. As I reported yesterday, 29 group members were arrested at 3am, Friday. So, this second round of arrests came on literally the same day.
But here's the good news from The Tennessean ...
Occupy Nashville protesters celebrated Saturday morning after arrest warrants against them were dismissed.
Night Court Magistrate Tom Nelson said, "I have reviewed the regulations of the state of Tennessee, and I can find no authority anywhere for anyone to authorize a curfew anywhere on Legislative Plaza."
After Nelson dismissed the arrest warrant against one of the protesters, a state trooper asked if the move applied to all those who had been arrested. Nelson responded yes.
( bolding is mine )
Apparently, Magistrate Tom Nelson doesn't have too high an opinion of the Tennessee Department of Safety's custom-crafted regulations, designed to make Occupy Nashville go away.
More below the fleur-de-kos ...
There is this update on the Tennessean site ..
Two of the 26 Occupy Nashville protesters arrested early this morning were injured, says Karl Bolton of Franklin, who says he is part of the movement's legal team. One man, a veteran, was taken to the hospital. His condition is unknown. A woman also received minor injuries, and her camera was broken.
After the Night Court magistrate dismissed their warrants, the protesters were planning to march back to Legislative Plaza.
"I expect (state troopers) to be back every night (at Legislative Plaza), and I expect us to be back every night," Bolton said.
I'm trying to find out more information on this report and will update if I do.
If you would like to help support the good people at Occupy Nashville, here's a link to their donation page. Their total donations have been under $1,000 so far. There is an .01 on their total however. ( heh )
If you would like to express your displeasure with the State of Tennessee's arbitrary new regulations, here's the contact info ..
Governor Bill Haslam: 615-741-2001, bill.haslam@tn.gov
Steve Cates, Department of General Services: 615-741-2081, steve.cates@tn.gov
Dalya Qualls, Tennessee Highway Patrol: 615-251-5131
Update .. From the Occupy Nashville facebook page ...
Occupy Nashville will be having our General Assembly today at 1PM (Saturday) at Legislative Plaza to express our 1st Amendment rights. We are continuing our fight to end the corruption of our government by corporate influences. We demand better income equality for the people of this nation. We are the 99%. And so are you.
