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Published: 2011-10-27 17:13:00
Updated: 2011-10-28 12:59:27

'Occupy Raleigh' participants arrested for blocking sidewalk


Occupy Raleigh
Occupy Raleigh
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Eight people have been arrested in Raleigh when authorities said some anti-Wall Street protesters on the sidewalk next to the old Capitol building grounds in Raleigh didn't comply with instructions to remove their belongings.

State Capitol Police spokesman Ernie Seneca said three of the eight demonstrators arrested Thursday are charged with misdemeanor second-degree trespassing. Five others are charged with resisting police. Seneca said the charges facing those five where changed late Thursday after officers consulted with a magistrate.

The Department of Administration asked police to tell demonstrators to remove coolers, chairs, tables and other items from the sidewalk to allow access for other citizens. Seneca said most people complied, but three wouldn't leave their chairs, and others surrounded them as police approached.

Protestors say one of those arrested was disabled.

Many protesters followed those arrested to the Wake County Magistrate's Office after the arrests.

The Occupy movement held a rally on the Capitol grounds Oct. 15 and then shifted its demonstrations to the sidewalk.

The Occupy Raleigh group had sought a permit to camp out on the grounds of the Capitol through Oct. 30, but that application was denied last week.

The state Department of Administration told the group that it could reapply under guidelines limiting property use to four hours. The agency has also said there aren't enough State Capitol Police to provide extended security.

Occupy Raleigh organizers said the four-hour limit fails to account for the extent of the economic and political problems their movement seeks to address.

About 400 people took part in an Occupy Raleigh rally on the State Capitol grounds two weeks ago. Raleigh police arrested 20 people who refused to leave the grounds after the permit expired. Officers allowed about 75 protesters who moved to the sidewalk to stay.

The Occupy Wall Street protests began more than a month ago in New York City and have drawn tens of thousands in similar demonstrations against corporate greed around the country and the world.

 


102 Comments


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Latest Comments
Thank God the Police got it right. Thanks for putting these varmits in their rightful place. They should go protest GM for the money they received from Obama with no interest!!! P.S. Walstreet gave Obama 15.5 million in campaign funds. "Talking about the pot calling the kettle black"!

Keep the governement out of it. Let the free market take care of itself. Banks won't make so many bad loans if they are not forced to by the government. If they do, let them or anyone dumb enou smbiz October 28, 2011 11:08 a.m. Report abuse

A lot of the OWS protestors are only prtoesting bank bailouts like TARP. Yuo dont agree with that? Oh you love supporting the GOP when bailing out banks like Goldmann Sachs through TARP. Goldmann Sachs was Obamas largest contributor. LOL at the two party sheep. PSST Romenys #1 contributor is Goldmann Sachs. Who do you think was drinking that champagne? LOL Godlmann Sahcs laughing at YOU!!

smbiz, our opinions aren't that far apart. I'm loathe to trust the govt ro regulate this, and I despise corrupt politicians, but freemarket 'self regulation' is what has brought us looping recurrent financial meltdowns since the 80s. This is the Savings & Loan bailout re-written with leveraged finance similar to junk bonds, and corporate raiders writing their own salaries as they drive the ship onto the rocks.

I'm an old school, freemarket libertarian small-gov type, but this pile of feces laid upon the taxpayer makes me feel like a Bolshevik. Nobody could be more surprised and disenchanted than I.

It's time to take the toys away. They're too immature to behave.

"she was assisted by two officers, otherwise she could not get up herself."

Well, then, in order to comply, why did fellow protestors not offer her help?

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well then that wouldn't be much of a protest now would it? that would just be compliance. i don't know how much experience you have with protests, but in general, protesting doesn't mean giving in and giving up. it means standing up (or sitting down) for your cause.

"incited the public to violence with their tactics and actions."

alot of that violence was also brought on by the police. i'd say seeing my friend or family member cracked in the head or having a dog sicked onto them would incite a certain level of violence, if you were to see police brutality brought down onto your friends and family, would that not make you angry?

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