11:08 PM EST All have been released. Those arrested were charged with misdemeanor trespassing.

6:34 PM EST Indy Bay photos from the “crime scene.”

6:33 PM EST As SF Bay Guardian notes, no order to disperse was given. Police just surrounded the building abruptly and began to make arrests.

6:25 PM EST Five female protesters, one male protester escorted out by police in handcuffs. There also were a few more protesters that came out moments ago. About forty to fifty people have been arrested (estimate).

6:23 PM EST Six sheriffs enter.

6:20 PM EST From earlier, cop on roof of 888 Turk brandishing an assault rifle.

6:18 PM EST Banners and signs are coming down now.

6:14 PM EST Four more are brought out in handcuffs. More people still being removed from the building.

6:13 PM EST Occupy SF can make a case that they were trying to save the Archdiocese from having to pay all the property taxes it should owe because the building has been empty for about 5 years.

6:03 PM EST Independent journalist/photographer Steve Rhodes arrested. He was inside the building.

5:57 PM EST A person in need of medical attention is on a police bus. He is being denied attention. There is an ambulance in a gas station parking lot nearby. But, the EMS has been told they cannot provide medical attention until the police asks them to come on the bus.

5:54 PM EST Occupy SF is preparing to march on the Archdiocese of San Francisco. (Here’s a stream of that march that will be taking off in the next 10 minutes.)

5:53 PM EST Bobsterrob reports that the police are processing protesters far away from where the media is being permitted to stand.

5:52 PM EST Two more brought out in handcuffs.

5:49 PM EST It is the Archdiocese of San Francisco who made the call to throw the occupiers out of the building that had been empty for five years. The Catholic Church had the city expend resources and show up armed to the teeth to remove dozens of activists trying to setup a community center.

5:48 PM EST Per Joshua Holland – animal control took dogs that occupiers had. There were four including a puppy.

5:47 PM EST More SF police arrive on motorcycles.

5:46 PM EST Three more people brought out of the building. Not sure how many have been arrested so far.

5:38 PM EST Another view from bobsterrob, who is broadcasting video of the arrestees.

5:30 PM EST Joshua Holland of AlterNet is on the scene and tweeting photos.

5:33 PM EST 1:44 San Francisco time riot cops rolled in and started arresting people. Press inside were arrested, according to PunkBoyinSF.

5:34 PM EST There was an SF stream inside. This is a 28-minute video of what happened as police moved on the protesters. The arrests were peaceful. The video doesn’t show police in riot gear putting weapons up to activists’ heads. This isn’t like what happened to occupiers in Chapel Hill, NC.

Original Post

Occupy San Francisco took over a building owned by the Archdiocese of San Francisco that had been vacant for five years. Dubbed the “SF Commune,” the building was taken over so Occupy SF could have a headquarters. Occupy SF also planned to transform the building into a community center that could serve as a “food bank” for homeless people.

Now, police are raiding the building about twenty hours after Occupy SF took over the building. (PunkBoyinSF is streaming from the outside.)

KGO reported Occupy SF protesters marched from Union Square to the building early on Sunday. They stayed overnight in the building that reportedly once house a mental health clinic.

The SF Appeal reported this morning that police were ”in contact with the building’s owners, believed to be the Archdiocese of San Francisco, to determine how to handle the situation.” Sgt. Michael Andraychak told the Appeal, “In order to oust the protesters from the building, its owners would have to make a citizen’s arrest for trespassing.”

Banners were hung on the building. Occupy SF protesters also put up a tent.

The occupiers had planned “yoga classes, political discussions and teach-ins.” Throughout the day there had been reports of police blocking food deliveries from entering.

As of now (5:33 PM EST), at least ten to twenty have been arrested.

The Dissenter will now post updates on the raid here. Updates will appear at the top.