Occupy Updates
Portland, ME
Media contact: John H. Branson, jbranson@bransonlawoffice.com, 207-780-8611
Feb. 12 - Occupy Maine to rededicate Lincoln Park in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s 203rd birthday.
Feb. 10 - Occupy Maine faces 8 am deadline to vacate the park.
Feb. 1 – A local judge dismisses the preliminary injunction sought by Occupy Portland to block an eviction. While the ruling upholds enforcement of the park closure rules, the judge also finds that, contrary to the city’s argument, the encampment was constitutionally protected expressive activity, and that denial of an overnight permit could be appealed for further hearing on First Amendment issues.
Boston Herald report
Oakland, CA
Media contact: Carlos Villarreal, (415) 285-5067
Feb. 7 – Oakland city council votes on resolution directing the city administrator, mayor, and police to crack down on protesters blocking streets and rallying without a permit. The resolution focuses on Port of Oakland shutdowns but would apply to any protest.
Jan. 30 – Alameda County District Attorney’s office begins seeking stay-away orders which would bar Occupy Oakland protesters from returning to downtown Oakland.
The NLG’s San Francisco Bay Area chapter (NLGSF) is currently litigating two lawsuits against Oakland and Alameda County based on similar abuses at a 2010 police brutality demonstration, plus this year’s October 25, and November 2 Oakland police actions against Occupy.
Jan. 29 – Once in Alameda County custody, arrestees are held for prolonged periods under horrendous conditions, often remaining overnight in holding areas with no beds or blankets. Some arrestees are apparently held in a shower room. NLGSF receives many reports of injured persons being denied medical care and arrestees denied access to necessary medications. Women arrestees are forced to give urine samples in front of male officers, ostensibly for pregnancy testing.
Critically, arrestees are denied access to counsel. On Sunday night volunteer lawyers with the NLGSF are denied access to clients and told to return in the morning.
Jan. 28 – Oakland police attack protesters with flash-bang grenades, tear gas, and gun-fired projectiles, as well as boots and batons, during Occupy Oakland’s Move-In Day. Once again, Oakland PD tactics often clearly violate the department’s own Crowd Control Policy, adopted in the wake of NLG litigation stemming from a 2003 protest, by instigating violence, and, when giving dispersal orders, failing to provide exit routes.
NLGSF receives many reports of assaults on protesters, including an incident in which police knocked one person’s teeth out with a baton strike to the face. Police reportedly threw others through a glass door, and down a flight of steps. A videographer was pushed to the ground and clubbed.
A total of 409 are arrested, 354 of whom are taken into custody.
Jan. 24 – A federal judge grants major powers to the monitors who were first tasked with overseeing Oakland police after a 2003 civil suit brought by local NLG members found systemic and egregious abuses within the department. The decision by Judge Thelton Henderson gives monitors the power to enforce directives but stops short of placing the department under federal authority, which the judge said he was considering.
Jan. 4 – Video footage from January 4 again shows Oakland police violating their department’s own Crowd Control policy by raiding the Occupy Oakland demonstration at Oscar Grant/Frank Ogawa Plaza and, with no warning or apparent reason, grabbing select individuals for arrest. Over the past three weeks, OPD has repeatedly raided the lawful protest vigil at Oscar Grant Plaza, using selective and bizarre interpretations of city and state ordinances to justify aggressively arresting and jailing the demonstrators.
Local NLG members have sued Oakland police twice in the past year for violating their own Crowd Control Policy. The litigation is ongoing in federal court and seeks to halt the unconstitutional arrests, violence against, and illegal prolonged detention of demonstrators in Alameda County Jails.
New York, NY
Media contacts: Martin Stolar, 212-219-1919; Gideon Oliver, 646-263-3495; Susan Howard, 212-679-6018
Feb. 6 - NLG attorney Martin Stolar files a motion to quash the subpoena that seeks nearly three months of data from the Twitter account of Malcolm Harris, a writer and Occupy protester arrested with 700 others on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Jan. 11 – The Manhattan district attorney’s office files a motion to consolidate many of the remaining Occupy Wall Street cases, which number around 900. Eight Occupy Wall Street protesters accept the prosecutor’s offer of adjournments in contemplation of dismissal (ACDs), while another six have their charges dismissed.
Jan. 10 -Despite a building department spokesman’s claim that inspectors found no violations at Liberty Plaza (aka Zuccotti Park) Brookfield Properties employees remove the metal barricades that ringed the park for months. Police arrest three amid the celebration that follows.
Jan. 9 – The New York City chapter files a complaint with the city Department of Buildings, outlining how the barricades and security checkpoints at Liberty Plaza violate zoning regulations as well as Brookfield Properties’ legal obligations and its posted rules.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office drops charges against 21 of 63 Occupy Wall Street protesters scheduled to appear January 9, finding that they could not prove guilt in those cases beyond a reasonable doubt.
Police claim that during a September 24 march near Union Square the demonstrators blocked vehicular and pedestrian traffic and ignored orders to disperse.
Many protesters claim that they followed police instructions or that they did not hear a dispersal order.
About a dozen others arrested on that day earlier took prosecutors’ offers for ACDs.
The remainder of the cases are continuing toward trial with a court date set for February 22.
Dec. 31 - Occupy Wall Street protesters retake Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan. NYPD officers respond by kettling, beating and pepper-spraying protesters, journalists and bystanders alike. At least 68 are arrested including an NLG Legal Observer®.
Dec. 15 – New York City Guild member Paula Z. Segal spearheads the #OccupyDOB campaign, calling the attention of the city buildings department to zoning violations at Liberty Plaza.
Dec. 14-15 – Several hundred Occupy Wall Street protesters appear in Manhattan Criminal Court. Each was arrested and received a summons for walking on the Brooklyn Bridge roadway on October 1.
The Manhattan district attorney office takes the unusual step of assigning prosecutors for the cases.
NLG attorney Martin Stolar argues that, because the summonses had been taken from the court by the police and returned before filing, their content was questionable and all the charges should be dismissed. The judge rejects this.
Approximately 60 percent of protesters accept the prosecution offer of an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD), which seals and dismisses the charges if the defendant is not re-arrested within six months. The remaining defendants will seek trial.
Pittsburgh, PA
Media contact: Rachel Rosnick, mideastrvp@nlg.org
Feb. 6 - Several Occupiers remain after the court vacate deadline, along with around a dozen tents and a fort made of pallets that were previously the encampment’s foundation.
Feb. 2 - Bank of New York Mellon prevails on their preliminary injunction against Occupy Pittsburgh, giving the camp three days to vacate People’s Park (also known as BNY Mellon Green).
Jan. 5 - Occupy Pittsburgh files a brief in opposition to Bank of New York Mellon’s preliminary injunction. The bank’s complaint seeks to remove the occupation from what it claims is its property, alleging causes of action in trespass, ejectment, and private and public nuisance. Occupy Pittsburgh remains an around-the-clock encampment with tents.
Full case chronology and court documents
Washington, DC
Media contact: Ann Wilcox, wilcox_ann@yahoo.com
Feb. 6 - Two arrestees are arraigned on felony assault charges stemming from their Feb. 6 arrests. One suffered a broken arm and a head contusion in police custody. Occupiers remain in vigil at both Occupy sites, though forced to sleep elsewhere.
Feb. 5 - Park police raid Freedom Plaza, arresting one.
Feb. 4 - U.S. park police clad in riot gear, including officers on horseback, remove blankets and bedding from McPherson Square in a predawn raid, arresting 11.
Jan. 30 - Thousands gather under and around a “Tent of Dreams” erected over the central statue in McPherson Square, awaiting the deadline for enforcement of rules that ban sleeping and camping equipment. Many stay up through the night.
Jan. 27 - The National Park Service posts and hands out notices at Freedom Square and McPherson Plaza announcing their plan to enforce anti-camping rules beginning January 30 at noon.
Orlando, FL
Feb. 3 - Occupy Orlando’s Megan Vermeer is found not guilty of criminal trespass charges. Guild attorneys expect to learn February 8 whether prosecutors will pursue trespass charges against another 39 Occupy Orlando protesters arrested for remaining in a city park after it closed.
Atlanta, GA
Media contact: occupyatllegal@gmail.com
Feb. 2 - Occupy Atlanta motions to dismiss charges in the mass arrests of October 26. Occupy ATL was among the first Occupy encampments to face a large-scale crackdown. Multiple camps remain throughout the city, including one with over 20 tents in Woodruff Park, which Occupiers vacate each night to comply with park closure rules.
Boulder, CO
Wk. of Jan. 30 - Occupy Boulder defendants reach decisions in two criminal cases suppressing evidence after a judge ruled that police opening tent flaps violates 4th Amendment warrantless search protections.
Miami, FL
Media contact: Dante Trevisani, dante.trevisani@gmail.com
Feb. 1 – Dozens of police in riot gear, evict Occupy Miami, arresting six.
Boise, ID
Media contact: Ritchie Eppink, idaho@nlg.org
Feb. 1 – The Idaho state Senate votes to amend the bill passed by the house banning camping on state land. The latest vote comes after two and a half hours of testimony by Occupy Boise members, as well as the Boise police chief who delivered a letter praising the conduct of occupiers, and who pledged that he would not confiscate their belongings as outlined in the legislation.
Week of Dec. 18 – Weeks after being confronted by NLG members about police use of a thermal imaging device, a Boise patrol captain says he’s issued orders that no BPD officer shall enter the camp, search the camp, spotlight the camp, or interfere with the ongoing protest.
Charlotte, NC
Media contact: Isaac Sturgill, iwsturgill@gmail.com
Jan. 30 – Charlotte police arrest seven in an afternoon raid of Occupy Charlotte. The crackdown comes one week after the city council passed Occupy-targeted ordinances that made camping on public property illegal. Police enforcement of the ordinances makes no distinction between “camping tents” and the occupation art gallery and information booth.
Minneapolis, MN
Media contact: Jordan S. Kushner, kushn002@umn.edu
Jan. 20- The county settles a lawsuit brought on behalf of a protester for $15,000. The plaintiff was arrested for chalking on Government Center plaza and, as part of the trespassing charge, barred from the property for a year. She was rearrested a week later for standing on a public sidewalk near the plaza. The lawsuit requested damages for the false arrest and sought injunctive relief to change the trespass policy to allow for due process, which was also granted by the settlement.
National
Jan. 20 – NLG members speak and legal observe at Occupy the Courts events in New York City, Boise, ID, Bellingham, WA, Phoenix, AZ, Gainesville, FL, and elsewhere.
Media contact: Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, 202-232-1180 ext. 202
Dec. 20 – The CIA refuses a FOIA request by Mara Verheyeden-Hilliard, co-chair of the NLG Mass Defense Committee. The requests were filed with the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Park Service (NPS), asking that the agencies release information that they possess related to the involvement of federal agencies in the planning of a coordinated law enforcement crackdown that has taken places in multiple cities against the Occupy Movement. The CIA response cites the inherent illegality of its alleged involvement as a reason for its refusal.
Bellingham, WA
Media contact: Larry Hildes, lhildes@earthlink.net
Dec. 28 - Police in full riot gear descend on Occupy Bellingham after outgoing mayor Dan Pike personally delivered an eviction notice. Four are arrested, three in the park, and the fourth in a tent on a street closed by police. All four are being represented by NLG attorney Larry Hildes and have pleaded not guilty to charges of trespass, disorderly conduct, and obstruction.
Week of Dec. 18 – Bellingham police, responding to a call from a lone Bellingham Parks Department employee who had begun trying to dismantle the Occupy camp, stopped the man and threatened to arrest him. Occupiers opted not to press charges.
Dec. 12 – Some 150 protesters block freight train tracks for over four hours in solidarity with the national port shutdown day of action. NLG members are representing the 12 arrestees, charged with criminal trespass and obstruction. Pretrial hearings are set for February 13.
Albany, NY
Media contact: Mark Mishler, 518-462-6753
Dec. 28 - With the help of local NLG attorneys including Mark Mishler, Occupy Albany files to move its hearing from district to federal court, arguing the city’s lawsuit raises First Amendment issues. The city has 30 days to respond.
Dec. 22 - Without giving notice to Occupy Albany, the city obtains a temporary restraining order permitting the removal of tents from the protest site in Academy Park. Police indiscriminately pepper-spray protesters during the peaceful post-eviction demonstration.
Tucson, AZ
Media Contact: Paul Gattone, pgattone@aol.com
Dec. 21 - Occupy Tucson is evicted from its second camp, established after a November 2 eviction. Local NLG members are helping about 130 protesters with over 700 pending citations.
San Antonio, TX
TX Media contact: Roxana Orrell, 830-285-9087
Dec. 22 - San Antonio police issue seven citations for camping in a no-curfew park without bedrolls, sleepers, tents, or other camping gear of any kind. One officer detains a disabled NLG Legal Observer®without cause for over an hour.
Dec. 19 – San Antonio police arrest six members of Occupy San Antonio (OSA). NLG Legal Observers® and attorneys are on the scene to track arrestees and locate them in jail.
Observations by Guild members at the scene:
Police Destruction of Occupiers’ Property – Police took every item on the ground (minimal personal effects and all signs) and threw them in a dumpster. They took medications from one person who had them all in original bottles that matched his ID, told him that he couldn’t have them unless he had a doctor’s letter in his immediate possession, and threw all the pills into a dumpster.
Selective Enforcement – Police told OSA that the park was closed even though many other people were permitted to come and go as normal. Police taped off large areas of the park. Occupiers on the “wrong” side were arrested, but people the police perceived to be non-protesters were let through without any incident, with police actually holding up the tape for them.
Obstruction of Accident Investigation and Medical Response - An NLG Legal Observer® was struck head-on by a police car. He was hurt, but police refused to call for medical help, identify which officer was driving the car, or take a report. Repeated attempts to make a report were met with a run-around from one jurisdiction to another. One Occupier calling through city offices was told that the mayor’s office had ordered that all attempts to reach city offices, file a report, etc. were to be met with stonewalling. EMS was called by OSA, but the paramedics refused to transport the Legal Observer®, saying he was stable despite problems using his arm and other pain. Reports indicated that he was in the emergency room, and may be hurt worse than initially believed due to a head injury.
Dec. 18 - After 2 1/2 months, Occupy San Antonio demonstrators move from the west side of Hemisfair Park to the east side, under the Tower of the Americas and in full view of the tourist public.
Houston, TX
Dec. 22 – The Houston district attorney re-indicted the seven protesters before a grand jury on felony criminal instrument charges.
Dec. 14 – NLG attorneys Randall Kallinen, Daphne Silverman and five other NLG attorneys appear in Harris County (Houston) criminal court to fight felony charges leveled against the seven Occupy Houston protesters arrested December 12 under the Texas “criminal instrument” law. Lawyers argue that it was inappropriate to charge the defendants under the criminal instrument statute. The judge finds that no probable cause existed to make the arrests December 14.
Dec. 12 – Houston police and fire department personnel place a tent over several protesters laying on the ground so they cannot be observed/recorded making seven arrests. The demonstration takes place at the entrance to Houston’s ports part of the nationwide Occupy port protest.
Austin, TX
Dec. 21 – Trials begin for Austin occupiers charged with trespassing on state land.
