Occupy Salt Lake City Ordered to Leave After Man Found Dead in Tent

Occupy Salt Lake City demonstrators have been ordered to leave a Utah park after a man in his 40s was found dead inside a tent Friday morning.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank said the man appears to have died from a combination of carbon monoxide poisoning and a drug overdose sometime around 2 a.m, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

His body was discovered during a routine tent check, according to the newspaper. He has been identified as a member of the Occupy group but his name has not yet been released.

Protesters have until sunset on Saturday to clear out of Pioneer Park and nearby Gallivan Center or face arrest. They have been camping in both locations for weeks.

"We can no longer have individuals camping on our streets," Burbank told Salt Lake City's KSL-TV.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, police were seen retrieving a propane heater and what appeared to be drug paraphernalia from the victim’s tent as they gathered evidence Friday.

A police dispatcher said a 911 call from the park came in at 10:11 a.m. local time that someone appeared to be dead in a tent. Police arrived and confirmed the man had died.

Burbank said the existence of the protest camps had become a public safety issue, according to the newspaper, and he questioned whether the dead man would still be alive if he had not been camping.

"That possibility, of him still being here [alive] is something we can’t overlook," Burbank said.

Protesters will still be allowed in the park during the daytime hours, though they have indicated they do not plan to leave Saturday as ordered, according to the Associated Press.

This is the third death to hit the Occupy Wall Street movement in less than 24 hours: A man died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the Occupy Burlington encampment in Vermont Thursday afternoon, and another man was shot dead near the Occupy Oakland encampment Thursday night.

(h/t Blaze reader Adam)