McPherson Sq. Raid Results in Most Tents Being Removed in Aggressive Police Action
Update Night of 2/5/12: The Park Police raided Freedom Plaza the day after raiding McPherson Sq. Approximately 20% of the tents were removed for violating the rules against camping or for having bio-waste materials inside (urine or other bodily fluids). The police also took the propane so they are now unable to cook in their kitchen. And, the police are aggressively enforcing the no camping rules in actions that seem like harassment and to make staying at the Plaza very uncomfortable. Reports are that people staying at Freedom Plaza have no intention of leaving. They need food and financial support. You can make a donation at www.OccupyFreedomPlaza.org.
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Update Morning 2/5/12: The Park Police may be readying Freedom Plaza for eviction today. They have closed down the road next to the Plaza and more police vehicles are parking alongside the Plaza. They have handed out notices explaining the park rules, more enforcement of rules against camping and describing how they will be putting up a security perimeter and anyone who violates the perimeter will be subject to arrest. They warn, this is the last chance to come into compliance.
Freedom Plaza seems to be doing a good job of walking the fine line between legal 24-hour vigils with tents and illegal camping. They are making it harder for the police to enforce their rules which violate the very clear statement of the Constitution – Congress shall make no law abridging Freedom of Speech or the Right to Assemble to redress grievances.
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Yesterday, Occupy Washington, DC was raided by police in riot gear and personel in HAZMAT suits. Occupiers at Freedom Plaza showed their support for McPherson Square throughout the day. DC occupiers are regrouping and planning continued resistance. Occupy DC reports that 9 people were arrested. The Occupy Movement has awakened many people to their power and they will not be going back to sleep. We have seen that many Americans of all ages, races and classes share common concerns about the unfair economy, economic insecurity and dysfunctional government. The idea will grow and get stronger from here. Below are press reports on the raid.
Occupy D.C. camp raided by police
Eight protesters were arrested Saturday after a pre-dawn raid on the Occupy D.C. camp in McPherson Square, with dozens of police clearing away tents, bedding and dead rodents.
U.S. Park Police — on horseback and on foot with riot gear — swept into the park just after 5:30 a.m. A helicopter circled overhead, horses’ hooves clattered on the pavement and protesters ran through the camp trying to wake up those still sleeping.
Occupy D.C. protesters and police clashed in McPherson Square on Saturday as U.S. Park Police swept the encampment, removing bedding, tents and other belongings that did not adhere to the no-camping rules that began being enforced this past week. (Feb. 4)
How the U.S. Park Police cleared Occupy D.C. protesters from McPherson Square.
Streets within two blocks of the downtown park were shut down because of the raid, which was characterized as “further enforcement” of a no-camping crackdown that began Monday.
There were tense moments. Late in the afternoon, a police officer was struck in the face by a thrown brick. A man was taken into custody in connection with the incident.
In McPherson Square, where protesters once slept, ate hot meals and snuggled in friendly “cuddle puddles,” they can now stay overnight only if they stay awake, keeping only unfurnished tents for the purpose of a round-the-clock vigil, police said.
“They can have the tents for symbolic purposes only. So long as there is compliance, we will have no issues,” said Sgt. David Schlosser, a Park Police spokesman. “Their First Amendment rights are paramount.”
Protesters and police at first interacted in good humor Saturday as they negotiated taking down the big, blue “Tent of Dreams,” which protesters had unfurled over a Civil War statue Monday. But relations grew tense as the day wore on and police began clearing the park of several truckloads of bedding and trash. At one point, dozens of officers pushed back the crowd with riot shields so they could erect more barricades.
“We’re being evicted without tear gas,” said Melissa Byrne, a protester from the District.
Schlosser said that police had moved in to do temporary “nuisance abatement” and that cleaning crews had found health hazards that included filthy bedding, bottles full of urine and several dead rats.
Four people were arrested when they refused to leave an area where the cleanup was underway, and they were charged with failing to obey a lawful order. Three others were arrested later and charged with crossing a police line.
Occupy protesters, demonstrating against economic inequality, have been living in McPherson Square and a similar camp at Freedom Plaza since October. But they have been criticized in recent weeks by congressional Republicans and District officials concerned about health, safety and cost issues.
After the National Park Service announced a week ago that it would begin enforcing the longtime camping regulations, protesters were told that they could not have overnight gear or sleep at the park, prompting some to go on “sleep strikes.” But while some complied with the rules over the past week, others remained encamped at McPherson.
Ann Wilcox, a member of the National Lawyers Guild who serves as a volunteer legal adviser to the group, said that although the pace may be slower, what is happening at McPherson is little different from high-profile Occupy closures at New York’s Zuccotti Park and elsewhere.
“They want the park to be clear in the coming days, and they’re going to keep checking back so [protesters] can’t reestablish themselves,” she said.
Frictions between protesters and police appeared to heighten Saturday when officers began a tent-by-tent search, tearing down some structures and throwing out bedding and belongings inside. Officers in yellow hazardous-materials suits and masks used poles to gingerly pick up used blankets, clothes and assorted debris and drop them into trash bags.
Cleanup crews uncovered dead rats and mice after removing wooden pallets that Occupiers used for sleeping.
Protesters became angry when it appeared that Park Police were tearing down tents without bedding, which they believed met the definition of “vigil tents” permitted by the National Park Service.
“Why are you taking down a tent with nothing inside of it?” protester Sara Shaw hollered from atop a park bench.
Capt. Philip J. Beck tried to calm the situation, noting that the Occupiers were allowed to videotape the cleanup efforts. “We’re not hiding anything. We’re not keeping anything about this a secret,” Beck said.
Beck said protesters whose tents were seized could pick them up Monday at the Park Police station on Ohio Drive SW.
Protesters said they had expected the raid, but some were surprised at the magnitude. It included dozens of officers, a patrol wagon, an arrest-processing tent and a cherry-picker truck used to remove the Guy Fawkes mask that had been placed over the face of Civil War general James B. McPherson’s statue.
“It’s pretty excessive,” said Ricky Lehner, a protester.
Mark Francis Nickens, a local musician who built a teepee in the square, said he watched helplessly from behind the barricades as police tore it down and threw out his dream catchers and poster of Sitting Bull. He hoped he would be able to recover three bags of clothes, but he wasn’t sure.
“I watched them take it down and felt they were taking something quite beautiful,” he said of his tent. As for the camp as a whole, he said: “I think it’s over.”
Staff writers Michael Bolden, Carol Morello, Martin Weil and Clarence Williams contributed to this report.
Occupy D.C.: Police cut size of camp, stop short of clearing it
Federal authorities Saturday moved into the Occupy D.C. site at McPherson Square, clearing out a number of tents but stopping short of putting an end to the 4-month-old protest. At least six people were reportedly arrested, four for refusing a police order to move and two others for crossing a police line.
Police showed up before dawn on horseback and in riot gear to enforce a ban on camping in the park. “This is not an eviction,” Sgt. David Schlosser of the U.S. Park Police told reporters at McPherson Square.
The raid appeared to launch a containment strategy by the police. By midafternoon, the tents had been squeezed into the north half of the park, and workers were removing debris from the cleared area, which was sealed off by dozens of police, some on horseback.
The new, smaller area for the tents was encircled by steel barricades, though gaps were left for access.
Protesters complied with a police request to remove a blue tarp — dubbed the “tent of dreams” by demonstrators. But for the most part they appeared unimpressed by the police move, or even quietly pleased, as if the authoritarian petting-zoo feel it gave to the place reflected poorly on their oppressors.
To be sure, the streets of downtown Washington around McPherson did take on the look of a police state. District police shut down several blocks surrounding the area, snarling traffic and leaving an empty business district awash in flashing blue lights, save people headed in on foot to see what was happening.
Dozens of officers were stationed along the new “border” within the square, and although they were technically in riot gear, it was more the business casual version — a smart, dark blue uniform under a shiny light blue helmet, with face shield up, but ready if needed. So far, it hadn’t been needed. Some were chatting with onlookers.
A bit farther back was the cavalry, a dozen officers on horses whose duty, at the moment, was to keep open a path for a garbage truck backing in to pick up debris.
A few occupiers were handling the daily duty of yelling loudly to passersby, with the theme of the moment being a demand that each park police officer identify himself and who he was working for. But the vast majority were just hanging out, many of them occupied in interviews with the media. No one seemed itching for a showdown.
One occupier, on his cellphone, could be overheard saying, “It’s not the apocalypse, man.”
The protesters can maintain a 24-hour vigil in McPherson Square and another Occupy DC site at nearby Freedom Plaza, but cannot sleep there, according to the National Park Service, which has come under pressure from congressional Republicans to enforce the sleeping ban. Tents can remain as symbols of the protest.
Washington officials have complained about a rat infestation at the McPherson Square encampment as well as a more than $1.6-million cost to the city from the Occupy D.C. protest.
In response to Saturday’s enforcement action, one Occupy D.C. protester tweeted: “If the govt enforced banking regs like NPS does camping rules, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Bankers arrested for fraud: still 0.”
Occupy DC: Police Raid Camp, Kicking Protesters Out “Violently”
Cliff Owen/AP Photo
Occupy D.C. protesters say things turned violent today when U.S. Park Police clad in riot gear and on horseback raided their camp to enforce a ban on camping in McPherson Square, a national park.
At least seven protesters were arrested. Officials said the situation became tense when an officer was struck in the face with a brick, The Associated Press reported. The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The raid, which started around 5:30 a.m., stretched into the late afternoon as police sectioned the camp off using barricades and cleared each quadrant individually.
“It’s been a hell of a day so far. We were pushed out of the park violently by the police. The police formed two parallel lines and began squashing protesters into each other. Once police realized their mistake, that they had essentially given us no way out, they began hitting people to get them out of the park. The ground is wet and muddy, and so it’s very dangerous. Many people were hurt. A number of people have to see medics for their injuries,” Justin Jacoby Smith, a member of the media team of Occupy DC, told ABCNews.com.
Many tents have been carried away in a garbage truck, leaving large swaths of the park vacant.
“They effectively removed any kind of bedding from the tents and they’re going to start searching them soon,” Legba Carrefour, a spokesman for Occupy D.C. told ABCNews.com. “We’re still watching this unfold. The cops are still here in force.”
Protesters have been fearful of a final confrontation with authorities since last week, when the National Park Service announced the camping ban.
“This is not an eviction,” Sgt. David Schlosser, a spokesman for the National Park Service Police said in a statement.
Regulations in the federal park permit protesters to stay around the clock and have tents on the premises, however they are barred from sleeping.
The NPS regulations also called for the removal of a large tarp that had been placed over a statue of Civil War Gen. James McPherson. Dubbed the “Tent of Dreams,” the makeshift shelter was also removed today.
Four people were arrested for stepping over police barricades and refusing to leave the base of the statue.
“The tarp is a symbol,” a camp inhabitant said. “It’s emblematic of our quest for freedom for people all around the world. This isn’t just about economic freedom here in the US.”
A handful of Occupy D.C. members have gone on a no-sleep strike to protest the rule.
“People are focusing on saving their personal possessions. The plan is to regroup and then we are going to escalate,” Carrefour said. “Occupying isn’t limited to parks and squares.”
City officials, including Washington Mayor Vincent Gray, have expressed concern over the sanitary conditions of long-term encampment.
During the raid inspectors in yellow hazmat suits worked their way through the park removing some tents and camping aids such as sleeping bags.
Some demonstrators told ABC News that a contingent of more hard-line park inhabitants had left bags of human waste as boobytraps hidden throughout the area.
The D.C. encampment is one of the few camps still standing after the Occupy Wall Street movement began in New York City’s Zuccotti Park on Sept. 17.
Police clear tents from Occupy site in DC; 7 held
An Occupy DC demonstrator, who did not provide his name, yells at U.S. Park Police after they tore-down his tent as police enforced a no camping law at McPherson Square, a federal park near the White House in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)WASHINGTON—Dozens of U.S. Park Police officers in riot gear and on horseback converged before dawn Saturday on one of the nation’s last remaining Occupy sites, with police clearing away tents they said were banned under park rules.
At least seven people were arrested. Officials said it was relatively peaceful but got tense late in the day when an officer was struck in the face with a brick as police pushed protesters out of the last section of the park. The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Protesters held a general assembly Saturday evening and vowed to continue the movement. One of the speakers acknowledged the injured officer and urged everyone to practice nonviolence.
Police insisted they were not evicting the protesters. Those whose tents conformed to regulations were allowed to stay, and protesters can stay 24 hours a day as long as they don’t camp there with blankets or other bedding. Police threatened to seize tents that broke the rules and arrest the owners.
The police used barricades to cordon off sections of McPherson Square, a park under federal jurisdiction near the White House, and checked tents for mattresses and sleeping bags and sifted through piles of garbage and other belongings. Some wore yellow biohazard suits to guard against diseases identified at the site in recent weeks. Officials also have raised concerns about a rat infestation.
Eventually most of the protesters had been pushed into the surrounding streets, which were closed to traffic.
By Saturday afternoon, seven were arrested, including four who refused to move from beneath a statue and three who crossed a police line.
Despite what police said, some protesters said the crackdown amounted to eviction.
“This is a slow, media-friendly eviction,” protester Melissa Byrne said. “We’re on federal property, so they have to make it look good.”
The officers poured into McPherson Square just before 6 a.m., some on horseback and others wearing routine riot gear. As a helicopter hovered overhead, they shut down surrounding streets and formed neat, uniform lines inside the park.
The police initially turned their focus to dragging out wood, metal and other items stored beneath a massive blue tarp — which protesters call the “Tent of Dreams” — that had been draped around a statue of Maj. Gen. James McPherson, a Union general in the Civil War. Protesters agreed to remove the tent.
Later, in a lighter moment, Park Police used a cherry-picker to remove a mask of 17th-century English revolutionary Guy Fawkes that had been placed on the statue.
Jeff Light, a lawyer who represents a couple of Occupy protesters and who was at McPherson Square, said he expected to challenge the police actions in court. He said he was frustrated because a lawyer for the government had said there were no plans to seize tents that complied with the regulations.
“Here they are,” Light said, “doing something different than what they said in court.”
The Washington demonstration is among the last remaining Occupy sites, enjoying First Amendment protections by virtue of its location on federal park service property.
Similar to the New York protesters, who strategically occupied a park near Wall Street to highlight their campaign against economic inequalities, the District of Columbia group selected a space along Washington’s K Street. The street is home to some of the nation’s most powerful lobbying firms.
Associated Press Writer Brett Zongker contributed to this report.