Raids at Occupy Wall Street camp in D.C.
The Park Police raided the Occupy protest at McPherson Square in Washington, D.C. this Saturday. There was limited unrest and apparently the police were merely looking for violations pertaining to the no camping rule.
CNN stated that the raid came after the Occupy DC petition to remove the ban on camping was denied by federal Judge James Boasberg. He ruled that the First Amendment doesn’t protect the protestors living in a public park.
Dozens of police took down tents in the early morning and removed bedding with and without the permission of the occupants.
An occupant, Ricky Lehner, speaking to The Washington Post, said, “It’s pretty excessive,” while the Park Police Captain Phil Beck stated, “We’re not hiding anything. We’re not keeping anything about this a secret.”
A spokesman for the Park Police denied the move was an eviction but a response to a “nuisance abatement.” Four people were arrested when they refused to leave.
The Occupy DC camp is part of the greater Occupy Wall Street movement that started last year in New York to protest corporate greed and 1% percent of the population owning 99% percent of the wealth.
Richard Ochs, 73, speaking to USA Today, said, “Protestors aren’t camping, camping is recreational. What they are doing is a 24/7 protest.”
