Riot police from a number of Bay Area departments fired tear gas and other projectiles early Thursday and arrested dozens of demonstrators to break up Occupy Oakland protests that had drawn thousands of participants Wednesday.
Officers moved in near the City Hall encampment where tents re-sprouted after officials last week ordered them razed. The police action came after a predominantly peaceful day of protest that attracted more than 7,000 people of all ages and left-leaning political stripes.
The evening appeared to be winding down peacefully when protesters declared victory at the Port of Oakland at 9 p.m. Wednesday -- after authorities confirmed that a shift scheduled to start work at 7 p.m. had been canceled. But as demonstrators amassed again at the City Hall plaza, the situation devolved.
Morning Examiner: Oakland has been Occupied
American flags were burned. ATMs were destroyed. Occupiers were hit by cars as they jaywalked across the street. In other words, Occupy Oakland’s general strike turned into lawless mayhem as anyone with an ounce of common sense would have predicted.
True, the Occupy Oakland general strike was not entirely violent. Throughout most of the day occupiers only terrorized shoppers, destroyed private property, and shut down commerce at the Port of Oakland. The real mayhem didn’t begin until protesters occupied an abandoned building near San Pablo Avenue and 17th Street. The occupiers erected barricades using tires, pallets, and garbage cans and set them on fire when riot police began evicting them from the building. An all-out battle followed with police using tear gas, flash grenades, and bean bag rounds on the occupiers, and the occupiers responding with firecrackers and bottles.
By 12:30 AM, the occupiers had been removed from the building and retreated to their home base at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Despite all the damage and mayhem they have caused, the liberal leaders of Oakland only want to embrace the movement further. The Oakland City Council will take up a resolution today supporting the Occupy encampment and calling on city administrators to “collaborate with protesters.” The resolution is expected to pass over the objection of Council President Larry Reid. “We’ve given up control of the city” to the occupiers, Reid said. “We don’t call the shots anymore – they do.”
More photos, including a warning "We Came Unarmed...This Time." Heh. Ha. BWAHAHAHAHHAHA~!.
A comparison of TEA Party vs. #Occupy: The Rap Sheet (now out of date; yesterday's #OccupyOakland will see additional crimes lodged against these neo-National Socialists).
Such nice kids.
HAMMER TIME~!
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