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St. Louis, MO: After two weeks of occupation and generally cordial interactions with city officials and police, Occupy St Louis is no more.
The two dozen arrested had volunteered to symbolically break the curfew, after the rest of the Occupation had packed up. They were arrested without brutality.
U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson scheduled a hearing for Tuesday to consider allowing the protesters to stay.
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About Jeremy Bloom
Our emperors have no clothes. Our emperors have no shame. These governors, mayors, city councils, police chiefs and street cops of America need to realize that it is NOT UP TO THEM whether or not Americans peaceably gather, protest, discuss, or demonstrate. It’s up to a document called the US CONSTITUTION. You can beat us and arrest us and tear-gas us, you can try to “permit” us to death….but you can’t kill an idea. You can’t keep down a people’s hopes and dreams for a better life…..a life with dignity and freedom….for us, and for our kids. With OWS America has found it’s voice, and that voice demands fairness and justice – for ALL. This land IS our land! AND WE WANT IT BACK! We want our LIVES back! We want our FUTURE back! But it’s much more than just words…. it’s much more than just politics.... it’s your LIFE, and how you want to live it. Find a quiet place somewhere, and consider this: Each of us has only one brief life….one chance….one roll of the dice….and many choices. The time has come to choose….to risk…and to act. If not now…then when? If not you, then….who? You DO have the power my friend….and the choice IS yours. Don’t let your dreams die….
Not quite right. They have been there since early Oct. They did not clear up everything before the police came and they are NOT GONE.
I only arrived for the first time on Th shortly before the Public notice was delivered: Curfew IN the park was 10pm to 6 am and all the stuff had to go. On Fri there was a march with a veterans peace group to Soldiers Memorial. Later some people chose to remove their stuff and others to leave it up.
The main tent and Kitchen tent were still up. All were waiting to see if the injunction to allow them to stay came through. The accounts in the St Louis Post Dispatch for Th and Fri were accurate for the time I was there. I had to leave late Fri night and have not been able to return. The Occupy website statements, the Facebook page,the livestream and the StL Post Dispatch all say that the police came in after 12 am Sat. Those who chose not to leave, went noisily, but peaceably. The Parks dept packed up the remaining tents and stuff to be retrieved later. Others remained on the perimeter of the park. Meetings , support for the arrested etc continued to go on and the group continued to use the park during the allowed hours and it seems at least the perimeter after curfew. Everyone is out of jail. They are NOT gone. Sunday there were meetings and a celebration with music and dancing was planned for the evening. I don’t know exactly what is going on now. Why don’t you contact them and get the story straight. They are still out there!
Hell yes we are still out there!
Actually, Occupy St. Louis had been established for 42 days, not two weeks, when the police raided and attempted to shut us down. And I might add that when the 27 protesters were arrested for remaining in the park after curfew, there were at least 200 other protesters on the sidewalk who had chosen not to take an arrest. The arrests did not happen ‘after the rest of the occupation had packed up’ as this article states. It happened in full view of hundreds of protesters who were in support of the Occupation. In addition, the city workers, in conjunction with the police, came in and removed all of our tents, the media tent, the library, the kitchen and many other structures that had been established and running smoothly for weeks before Mayor Slay decided it was time to pull the plug. I will say that the police handled themselves well and there was absolutely no violence or abuse of power. I was surprised. Pleasantly so. We have maintained good rapport with the SLPD for the last month and a half. Many officers say that they totally support what we are doing. They did our city proud by not showing up in riot gear with batons flailing. After the arrests, I talked to several officers, many of whom agreed that indeed they are part of the 99%. One officer even had tears in her eyes as she was arresting people.