Showdown Looms in L.A. as Occupiers Ignore Monday Morning Deadline
- Posted on November 28, 2011 at 7:43am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wall Street protesters in Los Angeles defied the mayor’s early Monday deadline to vacate their encampment near City Hall, with about 1,000 flooding into the area as hundreds of tents remained standing as they have for nearly two months.
A celebratory atmosphere filled the night with protesters milling about the park and streets by City Hall in seeming good spirits. A group on bicycles circled the block, one of them in a cow suit. Organizers led chants with a bull horn.
“The best way to keep a non-violent movement non-violent is to throw a party, and keep it festive and atmospheric,” said Brian Masterson.
Police presence was slight right after the 12:01 a.m. PST Monday deadline, but it began increasing as the morning wore on. At the same time, the number of protesters dwindled.
“People have been pretty cooperative tonight. We want to keep it peaceful,” police Cmdr. Andrew Smith told The Associated Press.
He refused to discuss how or when police will move to clear the park, but he said: “We’re going to do this as gently as we possibly can. Our goal is not to have anybody arrested. Our goal is not to have to use force.”
By 2:30 a.m., most protesters had moved from the camp site in the park to the streets. That put them technically in compliance with the mayor’s eviction order, but could lead to confrontation with police if they try to clear the streets.
There have so far been no arrests or reports of violence.
“We’re still here, it’s after 12, ain’t nobody throwing anything at the cops, they haven‘t come in and broken anyone’s noses yet, so it’s a beautiful thing,” said Adam Rice, a protester standing across the street from police in riot gear.
An anti-Wall Street protester makes a peace sign as she stands in front of a line of Los Angeles Police officers near the Occupy LA camp in Los Angeles shortly after midnight Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. (Photo: AP)
The Los Angeles showdown follows police actions in other cities – sometimes involving the use of pepper spray and tear gas – that resulted in the removal of long-situated demonstration sites. Some of those encampments had been in use almost since the movement against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed began with Occupy Wall Street in Manhattan two months ago.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said earlier that the park grounds would be closed after the deadline, while Police Chief Charlie Beck promised that arrests would eventually be made if protesters did not comply.
But in a statement issued shortly before midnight, the mayor said police “will allow campers ample time to remove their belongings peacefully and without disruption.”
As the deadline approached, people poured into the grounds, likely many of them answering calls on Facebook and Twitter to come out and show solidarity.
Well after midnight, some protesters began marching into the streets, and several crossed the street to police headquarters.
“Me and my friends, we are not leaving no matter what,” said Brian Guzman, who stood on the street corner holding a “Power to the People” sign. “Not until we get some changes.”
Masterson said he had turned his own tent into a “non-violent booby trap” by filling it with sandbags to make it tough to tear down.
“We can’t beat the LAPD, but we can make it difficult for them to do their job, and have fun while we’re doing it,” Masterson said.
Elsewhere, a deadline set by the city for Occupy Philadelphia to leave the site where it has camped for nearly two months passed Sunday without any arrests.
The scene outside Philadelphia’s City Hall was quiet most of Sunday and by early Monday the numbers of protesters – and police officers – had decreased.
Philadelphia’s protesters have managed to avoid aggressive confrontations so far. By early Monday there was still hope the City of Brotherly Love would continue to be largely violence-free.
But eight people were arrested in Maine Sunday after protesters in the Occupy Augusta encampment in Capitol Park took down their tents and packed their camping gear after being told to get a permit or move their shelters.
In Los Angeles, some campers packed up their tents and belongings to avoid police trouble, but said they intended to return without them in support of their fellow protesters.
Scott Shuster was one of those breaking down his camp, but he said it was only to protect his property and he planned to remain.
“I just don’t want to lose my tent,” he said.
Others moved their tents to the sidewalk so they were technically out of the park.
Villaraigosa, a former labor organizer himself, has said he sympathizes with the movement but that he felt it was time it moved beyond holding on to “a particular patch of park.” He said public health and safety could not be sustained for a long period.
Chief Charlie Beck told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published Sunday that he expected to make arrests at some point.
“I have no illusions that everybody is going to leave,” Beck said. “We anticipate that we will have to make arrests.”
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Comments (81)
LukeAppling
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:42amPut them in jail and stop paying attention to any of them. It is obvious they have have nothing to say other than spewing Soros fronted tripe.Newt is correct -get a job and bathe !
Report Post »JRook
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 11:04amIts not going away and the fundamental basis for the movement is gaining ground. Bush and Cheney put the economy in the toilet, by siphoning $billion to Cheney’s defense contractor buddies through a made up war, irresponsible tax cuts and the 2007 recession and bank bailout. Wealth in the US is too concentrated and real incomes and the real standard of living has been going down since the 1980′s, with the possible exception of the Clinton Internet bubble.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 12:07pmYes JROOK, it‘s all Bush’s fault. Sure, Obama has spent nearly 5 trillion dollars and vote for all of Bush’s spending as well (most of it I should say). But hey, chug the party line guy. Just know that at some point the party line will cease to make sense even to The Faithful such as yourself. Be ready for a shock the day it does and make sure your blood pressure medication is taken before you sit down and realize what you’re perpetrating.
Report Post »SerikFox
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 3:59pm@JROOK Really? Our standard of living is going down? Really? I have one word for you: Smartphones.
Report Post »GhostOfLiberty
Posted on November 29, 2011 at 7:12am@JROOK: I wonder, is the chess piece known as the rook stuck up your anus? I figure having a castle shoved up where the sun don’t shine would have an impact on higher reasoning skills…
Report Post »Hickory
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:33amThere’s no showdown here. This will just continue with the wishy washy city government yielding even more. No decisions, just yielding.
Report Post »littlefish
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:26amGet the sticky foam and glue them all together . . .then walk away for a few days…
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 11:01amPiss on em, oh wait theyre doing that to each other, my bad.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:16amThrow soap at them, it’s like garlic to a vampire.
Report Post »willijoe
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:09amRight on brother. Villagairosa attended the “Peoples College of Law” in L.A., which is or was a Marxist front law school hosting speakers like William Kuntsler and Angela Davis. He graduated from there and tried to pass the bar four times, flunked it four times. Then he went on to become the Mayor of L.A.
Report Post »M24
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:59amThis Just Shows That The Weak Will Follow Anyone , This is not a Protest anymore this is a Move to Cause trouble . LA Like New York Let this Go On Way To Long Now Its Gonna Bite Them In The Ass. These People Protesting Are COWARDS They Always have been, They Bitch About Paying Back Student Loans What Have They Got To Show For This Money It Looks Like All These Loans were a Real Bad Investment. These People Are Common Trash ,Useful Idiots If They Could Read A Real History Book They Would Understant That Under A Communist Rule They Would Be The FIRST TO BE DISPATCHED Believe That !!!!
Report Post »ProbIemSoIver
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 11:01amI went to go witness what this was all about, with my own eyes Saturday, In my local downtown park.
Report Post »A group of 50 sat repeating what the person standing was saying to them.
Anything they said.
Another guy stood up and said “Hi, I am Dave”, and they all repeated “Hi, I am Dave”.
Two “leaders” had military attire with patches displaying some OWS insignia.
This was very strange and definitely Cult-like.
I wanted to tell the group about the 1933 bankruptcy and to tell them the are protesting at the wrong
places at this time.
I wanted to tell them to protest the federal reserve banks, but I did not want them repeating everything I said, like brained washed sheeple.
And I ran out of time to be there anyway.
When I told the person who put my (not My) name on a list to speak, that I had to go, they asked me “what were you going to tell us”?
I told them that America and all of it’s people were pledged to the federal reserve for the bankruptcy of 1933, and that is why Birth certificates became law in all states in 1933 and social security in 1936.
They are a security bond with the trust holders.
They Gasped. they said “I always had a feeling about that”.
thefnshow
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:49amtell them to leave…if they don’t then taze them in the face and arrest them
Report Post »Dalady
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:20amWhat a shock, the mayor is a former union thug. Go figure.
NOBAMA 2012
Report Post »SanDiegoCountyCitizen
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:51amDig a little deeper… he‘s a revolutionary MeCHA Marxist bent on the overthrow of the Southwest US for reclaiming Mexico’s mythical Aztlan. He is a traitor to the US Constitution. Good thing he’s only in charge of a small city with a small Illegal Alien Mexican population, huh?
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:09amWill be interesting to see how peaceful these people remain when police begin enforcing the law.
Report Post »Unix
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:02amOnce they know the jig is up for them, it will turn violent. These OWS encampments are a test run for much worse to happen come 2012…get prepared to survive on your own, or in a small community. There will be uprising after uprising, food riots, tax revolts, and yes a communist revolution to follow.
I pray for our country, for our people to wake up.
Dear God in Heaven, please slap us Americans in the face, so we can restore our Constitution, and restore faith in you. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Report Post »beebacksoon
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 11:35amMidWestMom
“Will be interesting to see how peaceful these people remain when police begin enforcing the law.”
I wish law enforcement would stop pacifying the crowds and do their job! A peaceful and lawful protest is one thing…once they cross the line, that’s it!
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 5:48pm@Unix
I agree. And we are ready.
@beebacksoon
Report Post »I agree. But law enforcement takes their orders from the mayor and they can only do what they’re ordered to do. At least for now – when the shtf they will have some hard decisions to make.
Bill923
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:03amTechnically because they were evicted, they cannot claim any constitutional right to privacy for their tents. Search and sieze away without a single warrant, arrest those that possess drugs. For the ones that won’t leave. Start writing tickets for loitering. They will rip them up like a draft card but after sixty days it becomes a warrant for arrest. The friend of the Freedom Eagle is the Legal Beagle.
Report Post »timej31
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:58amThe last picture epitomizes what type of person this is all about. Tattooed and no hope of any solid future. But wants to do what they want without any consequences from others. NOT HAPPENING
Report Post »Unix
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:17amI was going to post the same thing…so good on ya!
Report Post »KeelHauled Mike
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:02amWith all due respect, I am a fellow tea partier, my flags fly in front of my home and my small business proudly. I love the greatness of this country and still believe America’s best times are yet to come, if we can just get back to our founding principles. I oppose the looters and stateist, I pay my way and help those I can, and expect nothing in return. I love my family, have four beautiful children all in elementary school, and one with autism, I spend my working day devoted to them and their needs for their future.
That said, I am heavily tattooed, and even tattoo professionally for a living, and in my trade just as in the country , it is split. There are ******** in every sect of our society, it crosses all lines with the false praise of the collective eutopia, but believe me there are not, believe in America and our individual liberties. I believe in the future and will fight for it with my fellow piers, so with all due respect please check your opinion and keep your eyes on the ball. Divided we will fall!
Report Post »SafeguardOurLiberty
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:55amBurn their tents down!
Report Post »thegodfather
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:54amI’m giving them the “down wiggle fingers”.
Report Post »scrapadapolis
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:42amNo more coverage of this.It’s so old news that if noone reports on it they will go away.And to really rid them of their camp out call the fire dept and give’em 2000 lbs of water.kill two birds one stone,They get a bath and sweep the crap from the grass.Ever see dog crap sprayed by a hose?
Report Post »Unix
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:14amyeah, according to these liberal tv reporters, our laws are absurd. Good for them huh? So does that mean I can go rob a bank now? Or does it mean I can go down to OWS and do whatever I want to them? I don’t think so…it’s a mad mad mad mad world out there!
Report Post »scrapadapolis
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:37amKeep your spam off the blaze you POS!!!!!!!!
Report Post »rambosharley
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:15amI’m embarrassed for those idiots…..do they not see how ridiculous they have become! GO AWAY MORONS!
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:15am.
Report Post »Arrest’em, ship’em off to Afghanistan. I’d help pay for that………
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:14amThe LAPD will be restrained by the admin and the CA governance, and the bleeding hearted sets of progressive justices who will side with these bands of radicals and anarchists.
Report Post »RichNGadsden
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:46amAnd, during the next Tea Party Rally the elitist press and left wing looney politicians will refer to how destructive, and racist they are. I only pray that the public at large stops falling for this BS.
Report Post »Itchee Dryback
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:08amRichNGadsden
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:46am
And, during the next Tea Party Rally the elitist press and left wing looney politicians will refer to how destructive, and racist they are.
______________________________________-
This is why its important for the Tea Party to restore their presence. The standard has been established and the differences will stand out in stark relief.
Report Post »Before the OWS movement the claims against the Tea Party have been all rhetorical…now there is a fresh in the mind and sustained record of behavior to compare to.
If played right, this could be a real boost to the Tea Party imo.
RichNGadsden
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:24amITCHEE DRYBACK, Oh, I certainly agree with everything you have said. The Tea Party should have had their usual peaceful rallies every weekend during all of this occupy crap. Eventually some newsies other than Fox would show them. They would castigate them, but eventually show them on TV. The public is then quite capable of seeing distinguishing the differences. You’re right, it would be a major boost for the Tea Party.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 12:12pmAh, but you see, they would simply “merge” us rhetorically on the news. If there was violence in OWS, a rape, you know…the usual…the news would report about a Tea Party protest, and then note “at protests this weekend, rapes were reported” in the next breath, all the while omitting OWS from the story.
Report Post »On The Bayou
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:05amThe call went out on Facebook and Twitter join us and show solidarity. BYMW, bring your meth and weed.
Report Post »Thatsitivehadenough
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:15amI’m SBWOWS.
Yes, sooooo bored. Yaaaawwwwwnnnnnn…
Report Post »Itchee Dryback
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:17amvarnell99
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:02am
_____________________________________
Yes… exactly.
Report Post »I’m afraid the governing bodies are in support of the destruction of this republic and are just role-playing.
varnell99
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:02amQuery, if a parent tells a child to do something and if they don’t there would be consequences and then does not follow through with the consequences has the parent lied and does the child loose some respect? Is that not the same with all the mayors who say get out or else and then lets the time pass. The protester loose respect and know the nothing is going to happen to them if they don’t follow the request of the mayor. The mayors need not make threats if they do not intend to follow through. Don’t lie, period.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:12amOne more time, and I’ll spank you. One more time and I’ll spank you. One more time, and you’re really gonna get it.
It teaches that threats are empty and mean absolutely nothing. Good analogy.
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:14amAgreed. The mayors have only themselves to blame for the messes they face. Should have enforced the laws from Day 1.
Report Post »Trucker1313
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:02amWater cannons ,then play Rush and Beck on loud speakers
Report Post »Your Name Here
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:28amI love that idea. Keep the morons listening to conservative radio all night long so they can’t get any sleep.
Report Post »Another thing would be to turn off the wireless access in and around their camp sites.
If nothing else secure the WAP‘s so they can’t log on.
I’d love to track all of their numbers and then start calling them all the time to run up their bills.
Oh, then they’d turn their phones off? Even better.
I’d love to see the stats for the cell availability of the cell phone carriers in the areas of these morons.
think of all the money the carriers are making off of these anti-capitalists.
hi
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:48amThat is an awesome idea!!!
Report Post »TyrannyNoMore
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 9:35amI prefer Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher myself !
Report Post »Censored_by_the_Illuminati
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:00amIf a citizen breaks a law non-violently, they are still engaging in criminal activity. Jail ‘em, fine ‘em then Jail ’em again for not paying the fines. Since the courts decided that sleeping in the parks was an expression of free speech, then it’s reasonable to deduct that refusing a police order to clear a public facility when so order is a violent offense. We’ll just call it non-violent violence. it the tradition of liberalism.
Report Post »olddog
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 7:59amWhat a great place to have riots LA, should keep it going for years… The left eating the left, you have to love it…. Riot on LA, riot on..
Report Post »Striker
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 7:57amI am now offically bored with these people. All they want is attention and to have fun. There is no list of demands that will end the so-called protest. I wish “The Blaze” would stop covering them unless something really newsworthy happens.
Report Post »RIGHTHOOK
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:10amI am bored and tired of it myself as it is not even close to being constructive in LA or anywhere else. Just running up a massive tab to clean up the mess left behind that those with legit incomes will have to shoulder via increased taxes. And those in attendance that they quote have no command of the English language conveying an uneducated pack of losers. When the highly contagious intestinal flu that is currently prevalent in Southern California spreads from tent to tent………well, you get the picture!
Report Post »paulusmaximus
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 7:47am“The best way to keep a non-violent movement non-violent is to throw a party, and keep it festive and atmospheric,” said Brian Masterson. (???)
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