Breaking News: State Orders Occupy Olympia to Leave — UPDATED X11
UPDATES IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
Earlier today, the director of the state Department of Enterprise Services, which manages Heritage Park, sent a letter to Occupy Olympia ordering them to remove all tents and other structures by 12:01 AM Friday morning, saying the continued occupation “pose[s] health and safety risks.” The letter adds that all personal property left in the park after that time will be removed.
Representatives of several local faith organizations and social service advocacy groups have been in the park, working to connect protesters who are homeless with shelter. Said one such representative, “The question I’m starting to ask people is, where are you sleeping tonight?” The Salvation Army has opened it’s overflow homeless shelter, which normally only opens with the temperature dips below 32 degrees and which holds about 20 people. Some local churches were preparing to make room as well. However, homeless advocates said at least some people will likely return to homeless encampments in the woods.
Many residents of Occupy Olympia seemed to be preparing to leave. According to one social service worker, “Most folks, at least the ones I’ve talked to, seem fairly accepting of their need to depart.” As of 4 PM this afternoon, there were 80 tents in the park. This is down from a peak of about 120 tents a few weeks ago, though some had left before today’s announcement from the state.
However, at least a few residents at the protest said they planned to stay and face arrest.
Occupy Olympia members were planning a rally at Heritage Park at 10 PM.
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New photos from about 8 AM:
About 50 state troopers in riot gear are hanging out a block away from Heritage Park.
A dozen or so protesters slowly carry tents and personal belongings out of the park. The state patrol has not taken any action to remove them.
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Update: As of 10 PM, there are 69 tents left at Occupy Olympia, along with a subdued rally of about 60 people. It is not clear when or how the residents will be evicted, or where they will go. Stay tuned for updates!
Matthew Green
Update x2: As of midnight, the crowd has grown in size to several hundred. They are more animated, playing music, and spreading rumors about what the police may do and when. So far, police have merely driven past a few times, without entering the park.
A few people continue to pack up. More tents, but certainly not all of them, have been removed.
At about 12:30 AM, much of the crowd walks over to the old health department building, across the street from Bayview grocery store. They open the doors, a few enter the building (which has been vacant for at least a decade), and announce “This is our new community center.”
Someone announces that the door was unlocked when they arrived, which, he makes clear, means they are not breaking and entering (a felony) but at worst trespassing (a misdemeanor). This is meant as encouragement for those hesitating to enter the building.
Protesters start carrying food and other supplies from the park over to the building. They also carry pallets, apparently to use as barricades. In addition, they roll over a garbage dumpster from next door, to add to the barrier in front of the building.
Police have not approached. At one point, six Olympia police cars and officers were gathered in the Bayview parking lot, but they dispersed again. Now they occasionally drive by, but nothing else. Protesters frequently discuss the likelihood that police will do something, but no one knows what.
By 1:30 AM, several dozen protesters are inside the building, including a few who hang signs from the roof to cheers from the crowd, but mostly people are mingling around the parking lot.
Matthew Green
Now the group has decided they will try to move the remaining tents from Heritage Park into the parking lot of the old health department building, and re-establish a camp here.
Matthew Green
They announce that, for people who don’t wish to enter the building because they don’t want to risk arrest, there is a “contingency plan”. Though it’s not clear what that plan is.
A couple of protesters come over to ask who I am, and what I’m doing here hanging out and writing on my computer. They seem pleased to hear that I’m a reporter. One tells me “I’ve squatted this building many times before,” and they say it’s a waste to leave buildings like this one empty.
Despite several exhortations, no one has moved a tent over here to the parking lot. Several speakers have expressed concern over leaving the park “undefended.”
It appears that the only protester over 30 years of age is a certain Evergreen professor, who makes a short speech warning that the police are going to “bust heads.”
Police have done nothing so far.
Matthew Green
By 2:30 AM, the crowd is down to about 30 holding a meeting inside the old health department building, another 30 hanging around outside listening to someone play on a banjo, and a few more back at the park. The question everyone is asking but no one has answered is, what do they do next?
OP&L will check back in the morning.
Matthew Green
At 6:30 AM, it is quiet at Occupy Olympia.
There are 55 tents still standing in Heritage Park, though at least some of those are not occupied.
About 20 people are still in or near the old health department building. They already have a sign on the front door: “No drugs. No violence. Keep smoking outside. Keep the Rachel Corrie Community Center safe.”
Rumors about what the police will do continue. One protester tells his friends, “They’re going to use the SWAT on us. They love that tactical invasion. They love that stuff.” The police occasionally drive by.
One TV reporter films a live shot for the morning news.
Matthew Green
At 7 AM, eight state patrol troopers arrive in Heritage Park, accompanied by officials from the Department of Enterprise Services (the agency that manages the park). A DES official says “The plan is to use a gentle approach,” though it is not clear what the full plan is.
There is also an Animal Services van.
A group of a half-dozen local clergy have come to the park to hold a vigil.
Matthew Green
The state patrol have blocked off part of Water Street to traffic.
Matthew Green
There are now at least 16 state patrol troopers on the scene, including at least 5 in riot gear.
There are also 4 Department of Corrections officers, and a few animal control officers.
An officer is now reading a statement over a loudspeaker, demanding that occupants leave the park under threat of arrest.
Matthew Green
There are now more than two dozen troopers in riot gear hanging out a half block from the park.
A DES official tells me the plan is for the state patrol to remove all people from the park, remove the tents, and put up a fence.
An officer repeats the demand that people leave. It includes a statement that this portion of the park will remain closed “for health and safety reasons.”
Matthew Green
By 8 AM, there are more than 50 troopers in riot gear. They are standing around in the parking lot next to the Water Street Cafe.
Meanwhile, about a dozen protesters and their supporters are working to take down tents and haul away personal belongings. Thus, the park is slowly emptying. The state patrol seems content to let the protesters work without interference.
There are also around 10 DES maintenance staff here, presumably to help put of the fence planned for later. A couple of them have driven in a small tractor, which they are using to haul off some wooden pallets.