Hundreds of police officers converged on the Occupy Oakland camp early on Monday, dismantling the protesters’ tents and arresting at least 20 Occupy Oakland demonstrators who had gathered overnight in the town center.
Oakland police and officers from several other San Francisco Bay areas encircled the protest site in downtown Oakland at about 4:30 a.m. local time and started clearing the camp. Officers were seen escorting handcuffed protesters away from the area soon afterwards. The police were obscuring their badges to avoid identification.
The media have been banned from walking through the tents, says RT’s Lucy Kafanov who was at the center of events in downtown Oakland. At least 20 people are reported to have been arrested already, but the there have been no reports of violence. As police led those arrested from the scene, the crowd of protest supporters outside the camp shouted “shame on you!”
The action comes a day after police drove hundreds of anti-Wall Street demonstrators from encampments in Portland, arresting more than 50 people.
The demonstrators, who had planned to peacefully resist the raid, sang “We Shall Overcome” as the police carried out arrests. Protesters continue to affirm that the raid will not hinder the movement.
Officials across the country have been urging an end to the Occupy camps after three deaths in different cities – including two by gunfire – were linked to the protests. Demands for Oakland protesters to stop the demonstrations intensified after a man was shot dead on Thursday near the Occupy encampment.