RIGHT NOW: #OWS EVICTION

Watch live streaming video from occupynyc at livestream.com

BREAKING NEWS: The police are currently in the process of dismantling Occupy Wall St.

Relevant Twitter streams: Ben Doernberg ’13 | Josh Harkinson (fantastic–if disturbing–narrative of events from the lone journalist who made it into the encampment) | #OCCUPYWALLSTREET | Democracy Now! | Occupy Wall Street | The People’s Library | Real-time for #OWS

NYPD Police Scanner: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/?feedId=8905

The now-emptied park, via @JoshHarkinson.

Editorial update, 4:06am: For those who haven’t been frantically reloading the livestream over and over again the past 2.5+ hours like me, I thought I would contextualize the situation a bit. Around 1:15am or so I received a text from the emergency mass text number warning of the impending raid (incidentally, I had received texts earlier in the evening regarding nonviolent action workshops in preparation for an eventual eviction action).

Unlike the evictions that have occurred at other #occupy sites around the nation, this one came without warning or official statement, and appeared carefully crafted to prevent a counter-protest like the one that prevented the previous eviction attempt in mid-October (with closures of the subway and the Brooklyn Bridge, for instance). After calling everyone I know in New York and going a bit apeshit with the facebook updates, I found my way to the livestream, along with 25,000 other viewers (at the peak).

Tensions have run high all night since the police first arrived, with complaints centering on the harassment/obstruction of journalists, the blatant disregard for the property of the protesters, and, of course, the legitimacy of the eviction itself. Apparently, via texts from friends (and friends of friends)–who arrived by cab due to the blockade of public transportation–police officers were witnessed indiscriminately pepper-spraying crowds, who massed outside of a 2-4 block radius established around Zucotti Park/Liberty Square. Various gatherings have sprung up in the vicinity.

So far, according to accounts from protesters, among those arrested are at least one journalist and one city-councilman, who suffered a head injury; in addition to pepper spray (and possibly tear gas?), a sound cannon/Long Range Acoustic Device may have been deployed. No confirmation yet on the fate of the 25-100 demonstrators corralled within the park, though I assume they have all been arrested (@JoshHarkinson reports “all around me, protesters were being pepper sprayed and zip cuffed”).

For more coverage from the group’s website:

Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park), home of Occupy Wall Street for the past two months and birthplace of the 99% movement that has spread across the country and around the world, is presently being evicted by a large police force in full riot gear.

We will reoccupy!

UPDATES

  • 3:36 a.m. Kitchen tent teargassed. Police moving in with zip cuffs
  • 3:33 a.m. Bulldozers moving in
  • 3:16 a.m. Occupiers linking arms around riot police
  • 3:15 a.m. NYPD destroying personal items. Occupiers prevented from leaving with their possessions.
  • 3:13 a.m. NYPD deploying sound cannon
  • 3:08 a.m. heard on livestream: “they’re bringing in the hoses.”
  • 3:05 a.m. NYPD cutting down trees in Liberty Square
  • 2:55 a.m. NYC council-member Ydanis Rodríguez arrested and bleeding from head.
  • 2:44 a.m. Defiant occupiers barricaded Liberty Square kitchen
  • 2:44 a.m. NYPD destroys OWS Library. 5,000 donated books in dumpster.
  • 2:42 a.m. Brooklyn Bridge confirmed closed
  • 2:38 a.m. 400-500 marching north to Foley Square
  • 2:32 a.m. All subways but R shut down
  • 2:29 a.m. Press helicopters evicted from airspace. NYTimes reporter arrested.
  • 2:27 a.m. Rally at bull statue
  • 2:22 a.m. Frontpage coverage from New York Times
  • 2:15 a.m. Occupiers who have been dispersed are regrouping at Foley Square
  • 2:10 a.m. Press barred from entering Liberty Square
  • 2:07 a.m. Pepper spray deployed — reports of at least one reporter sprayed
  • 2:03 a.m. Massive Police Presence at Canal and Broadway
  • 1:43 a.m. Helicopters overhead.
  • 1:38 a.m. Unconfirmed reports of snipers on rooftops.
  • 1:34 a.m. CBS News Helicopter Livestream
  • 1:27 a.m. Unconfirmed reports that police are planning to sweep everyone.
  • 1:20 a.m. Subway stops are closed.
  • 1:20 a.m. Brooklyn bridge is closed.
  • 1:20 a.m. Occupiers chanting “This is what a police state looks like.”
  • 1:20 a.m. Police are in riot gear.
  • 1:20 a.m. Police are bringing in bulldozers.
PHONE
  • Call 311 if you’re in the NYC area.
  • NYPD 1st Precinct: 212.334.0611
  • NYPD Central Booking: 718.875.6303
  • NYPD Internal Affairs: 212.487.7350
  • City Hall: 212.788.3058
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27 thoughts on “RIGHT NOW: #OWS EVICTION”

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  10. Ben Doernberg

    I put together a compilation of journalists documenting interference with the press by the NYPD, including grounding news helicopters, assaulting journalists, and denying access to reporters. http://storify.com/bendoernberg/press-suppression-at-occupy-wall-street-raid

  11. Ben Doernberg

    I put together a compilation of journalists documenting interference with the press by the NYPD, including grounding news helicopters, assaulting journalists, and denying access to reporters. http://storify.com/bendoernberg/press-suppression-at-occupy-wall-street-raid

  14. Fuckthepolice

    This will only lead to violence, and honestly, as a nonviolent activist, that is totally legitimate in this case. Fuck the Police.

  15. Fuckthepolice

    This will only lead to violence, and honestly, as a nonviolent activist, that is totally legitimate in this case. Fuck the Police.

  18. Ifyoucantdance

    this is HUGE. what a wake-up call. this calls for an escalation: wildcat strike, massive re-occupations, and appeals to the silent majority in the public.

    1. H5N1

      Huh, maybe there’s a reason why the vast majority of the public has been silent…. Maybe they don’t want to support OWS.

      1. Ifyoucantdance

        “silent” and “unrepresented, undocumented, and unreported” don’t mean the same thing. please appreciate the fact that (most) working people have little free time to devote to things like this…until they are pushed past the point of silence.

      2. Ifyoucantdance

        “silent” and “unrepresented, undocumented, and unreported” don’t mean the same thing. please appreciate the fact that (most) working people have little free time to devote to things like this…until they are pushed past the point of silence.

        1. H5N1

          I do appreciate that fact, and it seems to me that if OWS was actually going to make a difference there would be a much larger ratio of the “everyman” in the protests, relative to the young far-leftists.

        2. H5N1

          I do appreciate that fact, and it seems to me that if OWS was actually going to make a difference there would be a much larger ratio of the “everyman” in the protests, relative to the young far-leftists.

    2. H5N1

      Huh, maybe there’s a reason why the vast majority of the public has been silent…. Maybe they don’t want to support OWS.

  19. Ifyoucantdance

    this is HUGE. what a wake-up call. this calls for an escalation: wildcat strike, massive re-occupations, and appeals to the silent majority in the public.

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