There will be an Occupy-related march from Arcata to Eureka this afternoon — an Arcata and HSU show of solidarity with the bust-up of the Occupy Eureka demostration on the courthouse lawn last night. People will be gathering at the Plaza at around 3 p.m. and marching to Eureka shortly afterward.
There’ll be a big general assembly at the courthouse in Eureka at 5 p.m., we’re told. We will update with any additional information.
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This morning, KSLG’s John Matthews spoke with interim EPD Chief Murl Harpham and Eureka Occupier Alex Krug about the takedown of the Occupy Eureka encampment on the courthouse lawn overnight.
Harpham said that the police originally showed up on the scene at around 2 a.m., and that people present at the demonstration were initially cooperative. A truck showed up on the scene to load up camping gear and other possessions.
Harpham said that around 4 a.m., others showed up to support the occupation and they began to resist the dismantling of the encampment. (Harpham mentioned Redwood Curtain Copwatch.) At some point, someone declared the demonstration to be an “unlawful assembly” — it’s not clear when, and it’s not clear who made such a declaration. At that point, Harpham said, the police started to make arrests. He said that 13 people were arrested in total.
People are welcome to stand out on the courthouse lawn and demonstrate 24/7, Harpham said, but no camping will be allowed.
Audio below:
Alex Krug was one of the people who responded to the call for support, but complied with the spirit (if not the exact letter) of the EPD instructions in order to avoid arrest. He called from the courthouse lawn, where he and others are currently picketing.
His account of events pretty much squares with what Harpham said, but he has a question: If only camping is prohibited, why were non-campers arrested this morning?
Audio below:
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Local attorney Laura Cutler contacted the Lost Coast Outpost this morning. She said that she is trying to organize mediation between the county, the City of Eureka and Occupy Eureka.
Cutler said she has a question about the legality of the Occupy Eureka takedown. They amount to jurisdictional issues — do Eureka city ordinances apply on land owned by the county? If not, then the city of Eureka’s no-camping ordinance could not be enforced.
Any legal people care to chime in on this?
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