PORTLAND, Ore. – Occupy Portland protesters huddled for warmth on a sub-freezing Monday morning after a weekend of face-offs with Portland police resulted in over a dozen arrests.
Riot police moved in on and scuffled with protesters Saturday evening after demonstrators tried to set up a new campsite in Portland’s South Park Blocks, arresting 19 people.
Officers made the arrests after protesters tried to set up tents and awnings, actions that police and the Mayor’s office said ahead of time would not be tolerated.
Sunday evening, a smaller group of protesters remained in Shemanski Park in southwest Portland after they were allowed to remain in the park overnight after taking down several structures in an apparent compromise.
But Monday morning, park rangers and police issued warnings and citations to some of the protesters who had brought in sleeping bags and other items. Two people were arrested. Other protesters simply stood on Shemanski Park grounds in the cold as temperatures hovered in the upper 20s.
Protester Mike Swain said he initially set up a tent at the park as a statement, saying protesters were discussing camp policy at a General Assembly meeting when there was no actual camp.
Earlier in the week, Occupy Portland protest leaders said they would try to occupy another public space with park preservation in mind following a rally Saturday. They did not name the park ahead of time.
That announcement prompted a swift rebuke from Mayor Sam Adams, who said he would not allow another encampment to form. He called the weekend’s confrontation and arrests a “low point” for the protest movement in Portland.
Occupy Portland protesters on Monday morning said police and park rangers were courteous and not confrontational following the weekend arrests. A small group of police stood in the park while some protesters packed up belongings to leave.
The Occupy Portland protest movement, which is largely leaderless, began on Oct. 6 when a large group of protesters marched from Waterfront Park to Lownsdale and Chapman Square parks in the Park Blocks section of downtown and set up an unpermitted tent city for nearly 5 weeks.
As the protest wore on, Portland Mayor Sam Adams repeatedly said he supported the protesters' issues of fiscal disparity, free speech and corporate political influence but said incidents, sanitation and safety concerns at the encampments eventually forced him to order police to clear the parks.
Dozens of people were arrested and the normally green and verdant parks will require over $80,000 worth of repairs to be restored. The two parks are now fenced off and closed to the public.
Occupy protesters say without some location of occupation, they are not able to generate publicity for their message.
A large protest is reportedly planned for Dec. 12 in conjunction with a union protest at a local port facility. A specific location has not been confirmed by KATU News.
The Occupy Portland protests grew out of the original Occupy Wall Street protest that began in September when thousands of protesters marched in the New York City financial district to highlight their claims of growing financial inequality, the use of bailout money by banks and other financial and political issues.
Occupy protests in other cities and countries have also clashed with police over long-term encampments on public property.
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