Two occupations, Occupy Philly and Occupy LA, faced eviction and the possibility of police raids yesterday. Both occupations managed to organize enough support at the site of their occupation to force the police and government in both cities to wait and force occupiers out later.

Occupy Philly continues to hold Dilworth Plaza. It is not reported why police have not moved in on occupiers yet, but it may have something to do with Mayor Michael Nutter being in Chicago for Maggie Daley’s funeral, the wife of former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

It is hard to tell how controlled the area happens to be and whether people leaving the site of occupation are being prevented from getting back into the plaza. The occupation has publicized it would move to Rittenhouse Square if evicted. That could be a problem as MyFoxPhilly reports, “Police have stepped up their presence at area parks, including Rittenhouse Square, saying they’re ready if protesters try to move in.”

Lisa Derrick of Firedoglake’s La Figa was at Occupy LA last night and posted a firsthand account on what happened. She was there from 11 pm to 6:30 am. Her post shows the LAPD was restrained in its handling of the occupation, even though riot police were deployed. There were a couple instances of possible confrontation in the streets. An arrest resulted. But this arrest was the arrest of a “troublemaker” that was basically not being cool.

This morning, the occupation filed a suit for a federal injunction to prevent the city from dismantling the encampment. The Los Angeles Times reports:

The complaint accuses the city of engaging in “arbitrary and capricious action in violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments by first approving the Occupy presence for 56 days before suddenly revoking permission through the unilateral action of defendants.”

Chief Deputy City Atty. William Carter said the city attorney’s office was reviewing the complaint and was ready to respond or appear if necessary.

Carter said the city was prepared to file three declarations in opposition to a restraining order. One is from a Los Angeles Police Department officer relating to enforcement of the city ordinance that bans people from being in parks overnight.

The protesters’ complaint points out that the City Council passed a resolution of support for the protesters and states that an aide to Villaraigosa told two of the plaintiffs, protester Mario Brito and Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild, that the municipal code section prohibiting overnight camping in city parks would not be enforced.

With these two occupations still standing, Firedoglake resumes its premier live blog on the Occupy movement. There will be updates throughout the late afternoon and evening on Occupy Philly and Occupy LA.

Here is a Twitter list you can follow for the latest updates on all things Occupy.

LIVESTREAM FOR OCCUPY PHILLY

Watch live streaming video from occupyphiladelphia at livestream.com

10:41 PM First edition of Occupied Los Angeles Times

10:32 PM Occupy LA expects to be evicted some time tonight. That was also the case yesterday night and they survived.

Suppose it is worth posing the question: Since Occupy LA has gone to court to get an injunction or a temporary restraining order, will the city raid them before a judge issues a decision?

10:29 PM Occupy Philly still going. There’s a police presence but the scene is pretty calm. The occupation appears to be proceeding as if things are normal.

This statement from the Legal Collective was posted on Facebook. The group that has been meeting with the city says:

The city has engaged in spreading half-truths to denounce and divide our movement. While claiming that new people have infiltrated our movement and made it more radical, the city has actually been engaging with precisely those new elements.

7:35 PM The backlash to the pepper spraying of UC Davis students was good. And that is all the more reason to defend the right of citizens to have cameras and film police.

7:33 PM Rosie Gray of Village Voice has a report on the CUNY student protests today in New York

7:27 PM Context for why America needs Occupy — 60 Minutes report on families living in cars

7:20 PM Religious leaders lobby mayor on Occupy LA but don’t ask him to change his position on evicting the occupation. (Using Occupy to get face time on “spiritual” political issues? Quid pro quo deals?)

7:16 PM Captivating and introspective account from Keith Gessen, an n+1 magazine editor, on his time in Central Booking after being arrested on the November 17 Day of Action at Occupy Wall Street

6:25 PM Mayor’s office says anyone at Occupy LA is subject to arrest at anytime. Maybe so but the crowd on the scene faces no threat of arrests unless the police warn them they are engaged in an unlawful assembly. True, they could just arbitrarily pick people to begin arresting but the restraint shown over past 24 hours suggests that is not how the ongoing occupation will be evicted.

6:15 PM

6:08 PM FDL’s David Dayen on occupying higher education

6:00 PM Marching in New York continues. @Katz reports an NLG rep said a man from Hunter College was arrested. Only arrest thus far. Helicopters are circling CUNY students and supporters as they move through the streets.

@johnknefel posted this picture of police deployed to control protest

And @allisonkilkenny posted this, the scene at Baruch College, a bit ago:

5:52 PM Tuition hike CUNY students were protesting passes.

4:39 PM City University of New York (CUNY) students are marching against tuition increases. The march broke out of a barricade here (via @RDevro):

Both @RDevro & @katz are on the scene tweeting updates.

Reportedly, a Newsday photographer was pushed around by police. Another report indicates a member of the press was jabbed in the kidney by an officer. So much for the NYPD order to not disrupt the press.

4:16 PM Time for Occupy Charlottesville to leave says city

4:10 PM UC Regents meeting is shut down by protests. At UCSF, UC Davis and two other campus, students shouted and brought the planned teleconference meeting to a halt:

About 20 minutes into the main agenda, students at UC Davis stood up, called a mike check, and said the regents should be meeting to discuss issues such as the greed of banks and the plight of students paying too much for their education.

4:05 PM Judge in LA to decide on issuing a temporary restraining order to protect Occupy LA soon. (FYI – Occupy Boston & Occupy Columbia currently enjoy protection from TROs.)