Go Home

Park Police to End Camping for #OccupyDC

Thanks in large part to Darrell Issa (R-CA) and his House Oversight Committee, the National Park Service will begin enforcing a ban on camping at two different Occupy DC locations next week.

On Friday afternoon the Occupy DC camps at Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square were given notices that they would no longer be able to sleep or prepare to sleep in the parks.

The Park Service gave a noon Monday deadline for when they’ll begin enforcing the camping ban, according to the notice taped to Occupiers’ tents. The ban, which is written into park regulations, has not been enforced since occupiers sent up tents at McPherson and Freedom on October 6.

The two camps, both located within a block of the White house, are the last remaining large Occupy encampments in the United States. Now it appears their eviction will be slow and anti-climatic as Park Police pick off protesters they deem campers.

On Friday night a group of about 75 protesters gathered for a general assembly at McPherson to discuss their response.

Occupy DC’s lawyer, Jeff Light, notified protesters if they didn’t want to be arrested they should not have a sleeping bag or personal belongings inside a tent.

“It’s clear to me they want to end this encampment,” said David Givens, “Is this something we want to defend or should we let this slide?”

"We need to force the Park Police to evict," said another protester, whose name I didn’t get. He said the Park Police are federal and under Obama, “If he wants to kick off his campaign with this, let’s make him own it.”

Lash, the head of the fun committee, said he and a small group of people would be staying in the park. They would not sleep for as long as humanly possible.

Brian Eister, a man who I’ve seen get arrested at the Supreme Court protesting Citizens United and at the White House protesting the NDAA, said, “We can’t be a bunch of spoiled American kids who are down for the revolution as long as it’s easy.”

Earlier, Eister said he was willing to get arrested as many times as it took to get across his belief that today’s political system is controlled by the influence of money.

One man, who came in with a group of about 50 people riding bicycles in the middle of the GA, told the crowd this movement is about the hijacking of our political system. He said this ban is being enforced thanks to the pressure of Darrell Issa.

“We should take Darrell Issa’s office and Occupy it,” he said.

On the other hand, one protester told me the camp had turned into a squat and eviction from the camp might help to refocus the group on the issues. At the same time he said protesters should use Monday as an opportunity to do something symbolic.

“We need to make a statement,” he said.

At the end of the General Assembly the protesters agreed to meet on Saturday afternoon to discuss specific plans for a large protest that will begin at Lafayette Park on Sunday.

About Andrew Metcalf
Andrew Metcalf's picture
Independent journalist working out of Washington D.C. I live story to story. Please contact me with story ideas/ corrections/ rants - ajwatchdc@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter @ajwatchdc.
Share This Post

Link To This Post


7 Comments
Edwin's picture

They're not camping. They are peacefully assembling for redress of grievances.


"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!

MountainMan23's picture

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Interesting (and relevant) quote from Wikipedia:

Originally, the First Amendment applied only to laws enacted by the Congress. However, starting with Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925), the Supreme Court has held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies the First Amendment to each state, including any local government.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_...


Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!

Edwin's picture
:)

:)


"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!

RePost of my comment from Jan 24:

Chris Hedges recently talked with Kevin Zeese, one of the principal organizers of Occupy DC. When asked about what the next stage is for the Occupy Movement, in part Zeese said:

“We started an Occupy house in Mount Rainier in Maryland,” Zeese said. “Its focus is Occupy the Economy. This is the U.N.’s year of the co-op. We want to build on that. We want to start worker-owned co-ops and occupy our own co-ops. These co-ops will allow Occupiers to have resources so that they can continue occupying. It will allow them to get resources for the community. It will be an example to the public, a public where a high percentage of people are underemployed and unemployed although they have a lot of skills. People can band together in their community and solve a problem in the community. They can create a worker-owned collaborative of some kind. They can develop models of collective living.”

This move will satisfy two objectives. In the first place it moves the Occupiers out of public space where they are vulnerable to (most) harassment by The Powers That Be.

And second, by forming an Occupy House, by taking the Occupy Movement's cooperative living model inside they are living the model for our future, a future that does not depend on the corporations. This is the most important point, because this is what has to happen - to carve out a new community-based social order free from the old order. There are no "demands" that will work. The old system cannot be "tweaked" .. it must be replaced.

Chris Hedges: Thank You for Standing Up
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/thank_you...


Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!

It's NOT CAMPING! The thing about Republicans is that they have message discipline. Liberals not so much. Do you really need Frank Luntz to tell you that "camping" sounds like a happy, fun time activity and not the ongoing PROTEST it actually is? Sheesh!

DC Park Police announced today that they will launch an unprovoked and brutal attack on the non-violent protesters who are peacefully exercising their god-given First Amendment rights. The police warn that anyone who dares uphold their sacred American rights will be mercilessly attacked, be they man, woman or child.

The police statement said they only lament that they aren't authorized to use real bullets and massacre everyone in the park. The police went on to say that if they had requested to surround the park with barricades so no one could escape and then shoot to kill until every single person was dead, but that idea was shot-down by some liberal judge legislating from the bench.

Rep. Issa (R-Ca) is preparing a bill for Congress that would declare that any American exercising any of the rights enumerated in the 1st Amendment to be anti-American terrorists and also authorize not only to police, but anyone carrying a gun, to exercise their Second Amendment rights and shoot anyone to the left of John Birch. "That will show them who's boss!" said, Rep. Issa, he muttered under his breath, "Damned liberals..."

harmil2's picture

Perhaps those not choosing to be arrested should start protesting in shifts so everyone gets a few hours of sleep away from the park since that seems to be the defining issue of who is legally there and not. Local supporters of the occupy movement could offer a spare bed or couch (Craig's list??). People could phone in and build a list of sleeping arrangements. While this might dilute protesting numbers on one hand, it would make protesting more doable for those with age, health/medication, childcare, and professional issues that would make arrest a step too far but they still want to be part of and contribute to the occupy movement.