Jonathan Foster, student reporter for the Rochester Institute of Technology,
was arrested at Occupy Rochester on Friday. (
ExpertDan/yfrog)
A series of evictions of Occupy encampments this weekend has pushed the total number of arrests associated with the movement to nearly 3,000. The evictions occurred in a geographically diverse range of cities around the country:
- Occupy Austin:
At Occupy Austin, some 38 people were arrested on Saturday night and early Sunday after refusing to let police take down food tables and clean the City Hall plaza where they had camped for several weeks, police told Reuters on Sunday.
They were charged with criminal trespass and issued citations that mean they can't return to the protest site.
- Occupy Denver:
In the most violent Saturday in more than a month of Occupy Denver demonstrations and marches, Denver police fired pepper spray and pepper balls at a crowd of protesters in Civic Center and arrested 20 people.
Two of the protesters were held for felony charges after police said an officer was knocked off his motorcycle and other officers were kicked, as they moved into the park to tear down illegal tents.
- Occupy Nashville:
In Nashville, where state law enforcement officials arrested 29 people on Saturday, the issue was a curfew imposed last week that barred protesters from inhabiting a downtown plaza near the State Capitol.
The legality of the curfew has been questioned, and a magistrate judge immediately released the protesters, who had been charged with trespassing, saying that the state had no authority to create such a restriction.
- Occupy Portland:
Twenty-five Occupy Portland demonstrators were arrested early this morning after refusing to leave Jamison Square.
The arrests capped an intense hours-long standoff between police and dozens of protesters who refused to leave the Pearl District park after it was declared closed at midnight. Officers, some in riot gear and others on horses, faced off with protesters who remained in the square, despite being ordered to leave.
- Occupy Richmond:
Police cleared out a downtown plaza early Monday that had been home to Occupy Wall Street protesters, ordering out dozens of people who had encamped there since Oct. 17 and arresting those who refused to leave.
Officers began clearing the park around 1 a.m. and most of the protesters left when told to and around a dozen who stayed were arrested for trespassing, police spokesman Gene Lepley said.
- Occupy Rochester:
Rochester police arrested 32 people taking part in last night's Occupy Rochester rally in Washington Square Park downtown.
Officers used a bullhorn about 11:20 p.m. to inform protesters that they were in violation of city ordinances and gave them 15 minutes to pack up and leave.
About 100 people had marched through downtown Rochester on Friday and about 150 occupied the park as part of the nationwide movement. While a good amount of people left shortly after the police deadline, about 70 people remained in the park just before midnight.
According to Occupy Arrests, 2,963 protesters associated with the movement have been arrested since Sept. 17. That is an average of 66 per day.
The largest mass arrest in American history took place at the 1971 May Day protests, when 12,000 demonstrators were taken into custody for engaging in civil disobedience against the Vietnam War.
