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Woodruff Park remained closed Wednesday after Occupy Atlanta evicted overnight
WXIA-TV
Tue Oct 25, 2011
Category: Police State
Area: Atlanta
ATLANTA, Georgia - Fifty of the 52 members of Occupy Atlanta who were arrested overnight are expected to bond out Thursday afternoon.
With helicopters hovering overhead, police moved into Woodruff Park early Wednesday and arrested the 52 protesters who had been encamped Downtown for about two weeks. The people arrested included Georgia State Sen. Vincent Fort.
The two protesters who were not granted bond had prior warrants from other jurisdictions -- one had a forgery charge from Texas, the other was held on a marijuana possession charge from Rockdale County.
The remainder of the protesters were granted a $100 signature bond. Twenty-seven of the protesters said they did not have a home address. The judge said they would not be released until they provided an address.
Charges on the protesters included violating park hours and other charges.
A release from the mayor's office Wednesday morning, said the park was cleared without incident. An email from the city Wednesday said the park remained closed as of 11:30 a.m., and that anyone in the park -- including members of the media -- would be arrested.
Representatives from Occupy Atlanta told 11Alive News that none of those arrested overnight had the opportunity to post bail, and were told that the system to check criminal backgrounds was down.
Occupy leaders also said that some local attorneys are volunteering their time to help the protesters.
Before police moved in, protesters were warned a couple times around midnight to vacate the park or risk arrest.
Inside the park, the warnings were drowned out by drumbeats and chants of "Our park!"
Organizers had instructed participants to be peaceful if arrests came, and most were. Many gathered in the center of the park, locking arms, and sang "We Shall Overcome," until police led them out, one-by-one to waiting buses. Some were dragged out while others left on foot, handcuffed with plastic ties.
Hundreds of others stood along Peachtree Street, booing police. They shouted "Shame!" and "Who do you protect? Who do you serve?"
By about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, most of the protestors had been cleared out.
State Sen. Vincent Fort was among those arrested. He had come to the park in support of the protesters in recent days. He said the police presence -- which included SWAT teams in riot gear, dozens of officers on motorcycles and several on horseback -- was "overkill."
"He's using all these resources," Fort said, referring to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. "This is the most peaceful place in Georgia. At the urging of the business community, he's moving people out. Shame on him."
Reed told reporters his security concerns increased Tuesday after a man was seen in the park with an assault rifle. He said authorities could not determine whether the weapon was loaded or not.
11Alive's Blayne Alexander spoke with the man, who called himself "Porch." He said he was an unemployed accountant, and that he did not agree with the views of the protesters, but said he wanted to protect the rights of the people to protest.
On Monday, Reed said he planned to revoke an earlier executive order allowing Occupy Atlanta protesters to stay in the park. However, he did not say when the move would happen.
Tensions Mount
Tensions between Occupy Atlanta and the mayor grew over the weekend when the protestors promoted an unpermitted hip hop festival at the park, despite contrary directives given to the group by city officials.
In a Monday afternoon news conference, Mayor Reed said the person responsible for security for the two-day festival quit last week due to issues of payment.
Reed added that advertisements for the concert, which aired on V-103 radio, said major hip hop performers, including Ludacris, were scheduled to appear at the venue. However, the mayor said, after speaking with Ludacris, he learned the musician had never planned to appear. The mayor said violence has erupted at concert venues where hip hop artists were promised and did not appear.
About 600 people showed up for Saturday's show.
With no city permit, Occupy Atlanta organizers tried to take over the event by telling vendors to set up, anyway.
"But y'all don't have a permit," one of the vendors shouted.
"We have an executive order for the whole park," said Tim Franzen with Occupy Atlanta. "We do whatever we want."
"The executive order permits Occupy Atlanta to remain in the park past 11 p.m.," Reed clarified Monday. "It does not exempt them from the fire codes or any other laws."
The mayor pointed out that in an attempt to prevent police from stopping the concert Saturday, members of Occupy Atlanta climbed onto and draped themselves over a generator.
"If that generator had caught fire or exploded, who would have been responsible?" Reed asked. "The City of Atlanta."
In a statement issued Monday night, Occupy Atlanta group members said: "The corruption of our political system by modern-day robber barons is the real clear and present danger. People are literally dying in the streets while the mayor's primary concern seems to be trying to end our attempt to shine a light on these problems."
Members of the mayor's staff were present during Wednesday's arrests.
As daylight broke, many of those who had not been arrested returned to Woodruff Park for a march down to Atlanta Municipal Court. The park itself was closed for maintenance.
While Atlanta's overnight arrests were largely peaceful, in Oakland, Calif., police shot tear gas in response to rock throwing from some of the demonstrators who had gathered there, according to authorities.
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