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An order against Occupy Wall Street has been signed by the superintendent of the National Park Service in Washington, DC. The order is likely to result in the removal of protesters, who have been demonstrating on the Federal Hall steps on Wall Street. The protesters moved there after the NYPD cracked down their “sleepful protest” on the sidewalks, which was legal but deemed an unlawful assembly by police.
There are now twenty-five protesters on the steps. Only twenty-five. There is no more because the Park Service is enforcing a limit. They are also trying to get Occupy Wall Street to get a permit for the steps, apparently. But the protesters believe they should not have to get a permit to engage in speech or assembly and they also don’t want to get one because it means one single person would be held liable for whatever happens during the protest. They don’t want to put any one protester in that position.
With the National Park Service moving against Occupy protesters, it now appears one can officially say the Obama Administration is complicit in allowing the crackdown on Occupy Wall Street by NYPD. After all, the protesters ended up here because it was one place they could take sanctuary from Bloomberg’s Army. But, now that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Above is a livestream from Occupied Air. The New York Times and Associated Press along with other press are apparently present. This is building up to a situation where many arrests are likely to happen this evening.
Follow this Twitter list for the latest on the scene down on Wall Street.
6 Comments
“the Obama Administration is complicit in allowing the crackdown on Occupy Wall Street.”
who ya gonna vote for, people?
sorry, I don’t tweet, so I’ll ask here.. does your latest tweet imply (“at this point”) that the order was signed in DC but that the Park Police are not enforcing it, or was your original statement wrong? Was the order against OWS indeed signed?
whatever the case, no one will convince me that the Obama WH supports OWS’s right to assembly and to free speech. that ship has sailed…
and thanks for all your hard work, K.G.
The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights
of the U.S. Constitution, in its entirety, reads:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. ”
Either we have a Constitution or we don’t. If the courts don’t support the Constitution by striking down local laws which conflict with the Constitution then the Constitution ceases to exist.
Occupy Spring!
https://vimeo.com/40686624
I should go back in and edit. I heard the person running the livestream say something about the superintendent signing an order. I should have sourced that report to this person because it does not seem like the Park Service actually collaborated with the NYPD in the nefarious way that I suggested.
The Park Service did what they are supposed to do – let people assemble on the steps. The steps are a free speech zone. However, it is worth noting they are now enforcing a limit. Only 25 people allowed on the steps. The feds weren’t doing this before Friday evening.
cheers K.G…
I guess the situation remains “fluid” to say the least.
Take care of yourself!