Occupy Tucson banner (Image credit: Pamela Powers)

Since Occupy Tucson was evicted by the Tucson Police from Veinte de Agosto Park in December, Occupiers have been busy– the food drive, multiple marches, regular general assemblies, and occupying the sidewalk.

Today, Occupy Tucson announced that they will begin occupying DeAnza Park at Stone and Speedway. From their press release…

The tents are coming back. Some members of Occupy Tucson, the local branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, will be putting up tents and sleeping in DeAnza Park after reaching a consensus at the General Assembly meeting last Monday night.

“We’ve never really gotten an opportunity to engage with the community in the way we’ve envisioned,” said Dave Croteau, one of the Occupiers who will be sleeping in the public park at Speedway Boulevard and Stone Avenue. “We’ve planned teach-ins and around the clock activities this time,” said Croteau, “and we welcome the neighbors to come see what we’re about.”

“The ills of our economy will continue to challenge the poorest citizens,” said Mary DeCamp. “The Tucson Police Department can continue wasting the tax-payers’ money chasing us out of the city parks, but we will continue to petition our broken government for redress to the social and political inequalities that have spawned this global movement.”

Three of the neighborhood associations near DeAnza Park were consulted prior to the encampment. The West University Neighborhood Association Board of Directors was informed of the impending action because DeAnza is within their jurisdiction; they voiced no opposition to the proposal to occupy. Feldman and Dunbar Springs Neighborhood Associations both voted in support of the Occupy Tucson action. Neighbors immediately adjacent to DeAnza were invited by Occupy Tucson representatives in the past two days to share their concerns. “Rather than being chased out and treated as criminals, Occupiers would like to help meet the needs of the community and work to find solutions to the home foreclosure crisis” said Ethan Beasley. “Too many of our friends and neighbors have had their homes taken from them through illegal title transfers using an automated recording system called MERS. The original deeds have been bundled, sliced, diced, and resold by banks and mortgage brokers who walked away with untold riches while hard-working would-be homeowners were fleeced like sheep. We’ve got to do something about those crimes,” said Beasley.

“We’re grateful that the Tucson Police Department hasn’t reacted violently to our presence,” said Sherry Mann, “but we have to have physical space to gather, to share our concerns, and to explore alternatives that will work for all.”

As puppets of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Goldwater Institute, Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona Legislature  are  attacking workers. Did we — the Arizona voters– ask the government to eliminate collective bargaining? NO. Did they campaign on this platform? NO. Why are they fast-tracking anti-union legislation? Because their corporate masters told them to.

We need the Occupy movement now more than ever. There are two classes of people in the US– workers and owners. All workers– union or not– should push back. We need to get corporate money out of government. We are the 99%.

Precinct voting sign (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

When Americans are unhappy in an election year, they often adopt a ‘throw-the-bums-out’ attitude toward incumbent politicians. In 2008, the Democrats seized control of all three branches of government. In 2010, Americans threw dozens of Democratic ‘bums’ out, and many Tea Party-leaning Republicans went to Congress for the first time. In 2012, Congress’ nearly complete gridlock and 9 percent approval rating hint at another throw-the-bums-out year.

But does this cycle of alternatively sweeping Democrats or Republicans out of office really accomplish anything? Are voters getting what they want from government or just crossing their fingers and venting their anger at the ballot box?

Under our current electoral system, political parties have a greater voice in government than voters, and that has contributed to “partisan sniping and gridlock,” according to Open Elections/Open Government (OE/OG), a bipartisan group of Arizonans who are working to place an open primaries initiative on the November 2012 ballot.

Disaffected voters believe elected officials are beholden not to them but to political party bosses and lobbyists, and this belief leads voters to lose faith in government, the OE/OG website claims.

Open primaries — where all candidates regardless of party affiliation are listed on one ballot — would give voters, rather than political parties, a greater voice in government, says Ted Downing, Ph.D., research professor of social development in the Arizona Research Laboratories at the University of Arizona and one of the initiative’s architects.

“Taxpayers pay for elections [party primaries] that limit their choices,” says Downing. Independents — a rapidly growing group of registered voters in Arizona — are “grossly discriminated against” under our current system, which favors the two major parties.

For the rest of this story from the Huffington Post, go here.

End corporate personhood. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers Hannley)

Today– January 20– is a date that has gone down in infamy. Today is the anniversary of the landmark Citizens United case.

To commemorate the Supreme Court case that struck down campaign finance reform, ruled that money is speech, and paved the way for obscene amounts of money to flood our elections, Occupy Tucson, MoveOn.org, and other groups nationwide will “Occupy the Courts”.

In Tucson, there will be protests all day in front of the federal court house. Here is basic information from the Move to Amend group that wants to amend the Constitution and fix campaign financing.

 LOCATION: Evo A. DeConcini United States Courthouse
405 West Congress Street at Granada (southwest corner)
Tucson AZ 85701

8am-5pm

Protesters are being asked to simply display relevant signs, support petitions to amend the U.S. Constitution, or register to vote early.

Planned activities include:
10:00 a.m.: press conference
12:00 noon: march though downtown Tucson
4:00 p.m.: rally with music & speakers
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: open microphone for comments and local entertainers

CONTACT: Danielle Rushford, dani7117@aol.com, Diane Dvoskin, ddvoskin@cox.net

Occupy Tucson showing solidarity upon their eviction from Veinte de Agosto Park on Dec. 21. 2011. (Image Credit: Alex Maldonado)

Throughout the day yesterday, Occupy Tucson posted calls to action on its  facebook page alerting supporters to a possible eviction that evening.

For a little more than two months, Occupy Tucson has maintained a continuous encampment downtown– first at Armory Park and then at Veinte de Agosto Park, after their first eviction by the Tucson Police Department (TPD). The Occupiers have never wavered in their demands for free speech and in their fight for the 99% and against the corporate takeover of the US.

Despite being one of the smaller Occupations in the US, Tucson Occupiers have suffered more police harassment than other Occupations. To the credit of the police and the Occupiers, there have been no violent clashes, but the Tucson Occupiers have received a disproportionate number of citations. Occupy Tucson citations are second only to Occupy Wall Street (1,359), according to the Occupy Tucson legal team, quoting data from St. Pete for Peace, an independent group that has verified (with two reliable sources) 5,425 Occupy arrests nationwide. Tucson has had 455 arrests according to St. Pete for Peace, but TPD has reported more than 700 arrests.

Occupy Tucson disappeared from downtown last night. Homeless but undaunted, what will be the next steps for Occupy Tucson?

UPDATE: Occupy Tucson will hold a noon meeting today (December 22, 2011) in Presidio Park in downtown Tucson to discuss next steps.

UPDATE 2: MoveOn.org sent out a message that there will be an Occupy Tucson General Assembly in Armory Park tonight (December 22, 2011) at 6 p.m.

Here is an eye-witness account of the eviction by Alex Maldonado, Veteran for Peace and Tucson Occupier.

On Wednesday evening [Dec. 21, 2011] at 7 p.m., during Occupy Tucson’s General Assembly, Tucson Police Department (TPD) Chief Villasenor interrupted the GA to announce that TPD would close Veinte de Agosto Park at 10:30pm tonight and wanted all occupiers out of the park.

A few minutes later, two TPD cruisers shut down Broadway and Church, followed by over a dozen TPD vehicles that encircled the encampment.

Flood lights were then set-up to give light to the entire park as occupiers began a second bug-out since the start of the occupation on October 15th.

Vehicles appeared, helping occupiers pack and move every item from the encampment to a safe location elsewhere.

The Veterans For Peace flag which has been flying over the encampment since the beginning of the occupation was lowered from the flagpole, yet a second time, but was promised to fly over the next encampment by the Veterans For Peace, who lowered the flag.

The TPD presence grew again at 10pm, when more TPD vehicles arrived with lights flashing. TPD cruisers, SUV’s, motorcycles and one pick-up truck had the park surrounded. Occupiers were finishing the bug-out and were, yet again, picking any and all trash from the park, leaving it better than when the occupation found it.

At one point, the occupiers stormed back into the park as TPD watched helplessly, and took some group photos with the statue of Pancho Villa in the background. Just as fast as the group rushed in, the group returned back to the “safe zone” which was the sidewalk.

Melissa Tibbals-Gribbin made a stand of her own, as she marched back into the park, stood atop a rock formation and held her hand in the air until TPD circled her, handcuffed her and took her into custody.

Occupiers then decided to sleep on the sidewalk but only after TPD imposed “a sleeping bag and covers only” policy for those few brave souls.

Five hours since the first two TPD cruisers shut down Broadway and Church, TPD finally left with only a small token crew to watch over the park for the remainder of the night.

Even though the occupiers were evicted yet again, spirits were high and a GA was already being planned for the next day. Occupy Tucson may be homeless tonight but tomorrow always brings hope for the movement and a new location to be determined.

The eviction of Occupy Tucson by Tucson Police. (Image credit: Alex Maldonado)

Tucson Occupier in tree. (Image Credit: Alex Maldonado)

Several Tucson Occupiers climbed the large trees at Veinte de Agosto Park after 10 p.m. on November 28. The Tucson Police, which had been citing protesters nightly for six weeks, issued no citations, made no arrests, and left at approximately 11 p.m.

Since Occupy Wall Street started on September 17, 2011, more than 4,000 Americans in 65 cities have been arrested. In Tucson, more than 700 people have been cited and/or physically arrested.

Occupy Tucson protester: Are permits required to exercise your right to free speech? (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

For six weeks– through heavy rain and nightly disruption by the Tucson Police Department (TPD)– Occupy Tucson has maintained a peaceful encampment protest in downtown Tucson. TPD has issued more than 600 curfew citations and, recently, physically arrested protesters for civil disobedience in not signing their citations.

On Saturday night, four peaceful protesters were arrested; on Sunday night, TPD came to the encampment with significantly more force– six cruisers and an SUV– but made no arrests. (See eye witness reports below.)

This show of muscle by TPD is out of step with at least three of the Tucson City Council– Karin Uhlich, Richard Fimbres, and Regina Romero– and former city officials George Miller and Molly McKasson.

As the situation is escalates, one has to ask: Who’s in charge? Is it City Manager (and former police chief) Richard Miranda? If so, someone needs to tell him his tactics of harassment are– at the very least– exacerbating the situation and making the movement stronger in its resolve and– at worst– could escalate the peaceful protest into a violent clash.

Tucsonans are behind the Occupiers– as is evidenced by the food and other donations and this totally unscientific poll, which has been running at 65-70% in favor of the Occupation since it was posted a few days ago.

Where do we go from here? My vote is for letting the Occupiers stay in the park– without police interference, further arrests, or curfew citations. We are the 99%.

November 26 report

From Alex Maldonado, Occupy Tucson Peacekeeper and member of Veterans For Peace…

From 10:40pm, Saturday night to 12:10am, Sunday morning, Tucson Police Department cited and released demonstrators of Occupy Tucson for staying in the park after hours, except for four who were taken into custody.

Michael (Mike) Migliore was taken into custody after chaining himself onto one of the poles at Veinte de Agosto Park in making a stance for his First Amendment right. TPD handcuffed Migliore and then proceeded to cut the chains, and escorted him to a police cruiser, where he was led away.

Mary DeCamp was taken into custody for the second time in three nights as she refused her citation. DeCamp was walked from her tent to a general area, where occupiers were being cited. DeCamp was then taken to another police cruiser where she was handcuffed, seated and then led away.

William (Billy) Lolos, who also refused his citation, was also taken into custody as he was handcuffed before taken to the general area. Lolos was then taken to yet another police cruiser and seated, and led away.

One unidentified male was also handcuffed and taken into custody, and was seated in the same police cruiser as Lolos.

All four were peacefully taken into custody without incident as fellow occupiers and supporters gave encouragement to those taken into custody for the third night in a row.

November 27 report

From Alex Maldonado, Occupy Tucson Peacekeeper and member of Veterans For Peace…

‎10:30pm to 11:30pm, TPD bull-rushed the encampment with six police cruisers and one SUV. Ten occupiers were sitting on the U-Turn curb, as there is a possibility of mid to high-teen numbers in citations. TPD’s mood tonight was not as amiable as previous nights. No one was taken into custody.

For those of you who have forgotten why the Occupiers are out there– or never understood the movement. Here is Occupy Tucson’s Declaration…

On Saturday, November 12, 2011, participants of the General Assembly of Occupy Tucson came to consensus and passed the following Declaration of the Occupation of Tucson as a working document. This is a living document and will be updated with new additions as the process continues.

Declaration of the Occupation of Tucson
As we gather in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what has brought us together.As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality that the status quo is unacceptable, and that our political and economic institutions, both corporate and governmental, are failing us; that the corruption of our system has undermined our rights, and it is now up to us, the people, to re-found those rights, and expand upon them. We assert that legitimate institutions derive their power from the people, and, therefore, as the people overwhelmingly reject the monopoly of power exercised by both government and transnational corporations, and in particular large financial corporations and the military-industrial complex, that their power is illegitimate; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by political and economic power, or when the rule of power trumps the rule of law.We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known:

We will not tolerate discrimination in the workplace, or in our governmental institutions, or within our own movement based on age, race, sex, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, developmental ability, physical ability, religious belief, and non-belief.

We condemn and consider illegitimate the acquisition of houses through an illegal foreclosure process by banks and other financial firms.

We condemn and consider illegitimate the massive bailouts that have been passed by Congress on terms unacceptable to the majority of Americans.

We condemn the media’s performance in keeping people misinformed and fearful. We condemn governmental and corporate manipulation of the media for the purpose of spreading disinformation and concealing incriminating or embarrassing information.

We recognize that financial corruption and failure are practiced with impunity under the slogan “Too Big To Fail.” In the midst of their devastating failures, we condemn the rewarding of massive bonuses to financial executives and elites.

We condemn the pressure to limit workers’–including migrant workers’–pay and access to healthcare in order to inflate profits, and overcompensate managers and executives. We demand the recognition of workers’ rights as human rights.

We oppose the systemic orientation of outsourcing more and more jobs, and condemn its use to exert further pressure on workers.

We condemn the scapegoating of the poor, and in particular the scapegoating of immigrants, including those who enter the US, often out of desperation, illegally.

We will not tolerate the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of nonhuman animals, and we condemn those who actively hide these practices.

We condemn the “structural adjustment” policies of the IMF, WTO, World Bank, et al. which have disrupted and degraded developing economies throughout the world. Consequently, we demand the forgiveness of the crushing debts imposed by the above bodies.

We condemn the use of legal teams, lobbyists, and other means to circumvent the spirit of our laws.

We condemn the universal commodification of our culture.

We condemn the practice of blocking generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.

We condemn the execution of persons, and oppose the privatization of prisons.

We condemn colonialism in all its forms.

We condemn torture, and we condemn dismissing the killing of civilians as “collateral damage”.

We condemn the creation of weapons of mass destruction, and the profits derived from their creation.

We demand accountability to the people and will not tolerate corruption in government and transnational corporations.

We demand the dissolution of the legal absurdity of corporate personhood.

We demand deeper investment in alternative, renewable forms of energy, and condemn policies that keep us unsustainably dependent on oil and other fossil fuels.

We demand the conversion of the perpetual war economy into an economy that supports peace and sustainability.

We demand accountability of transnational corporations that have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and faulty products—endangering lives and health—in pursuit of profit.

We demand the recognition of a worker’s right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions, and the right to negotiate in association with other workers.

We demand a reevaluation of the food supply—including a reevaluation of agribusiness and federal food policies and subsidies—with an emphasis on correcting negligence and dissolving monopolies.

We demand the end of all privatization of the commons such as water, seeds, genetic materials, et al.

We demand education as a right, and we condemn massive student debts as an abridgment of that right.

We demand publicly-financed campaigns, and condemn the use of money to buy disproportionate and undue influence in government.

We demand the end of the revolving-door lobby system between Congress and corporations.

We demand instant-runoff voting to supplant the winner-take-all system in elections.

We demand transparency in the tabulating of ballot returns.

*This list is not all-inclusive and may be amended at any time by consensus of the General Assembly.

We, the Occupy Tucson General Assembly, are asserting our first amendment rights, as well as our power as citizens. We are peaceably assembled; occupying public space; creating a process to address the problems we face, and generating solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support and resources.

Join us and make your voices heard!

Occupy Tucson protesters at the corner of Church and Congress during rush hour. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

For weeks, Tucson Police and Occupy Tucson supporters played an orderly cat and mouse game.

At 10:30 p.m. every night, the police came to the park, rousted Occupiers out of their tents, gave them curfew violation citations, and left, allowing Occupiers to sleep in the park. To date more than 600 curfew citations have been issued. Some Occupiers have as many as 30 citations, each with a maximum sentence of $1000 + 6 months in jail.

Occupy Tucson protester: Are permits required to exercise your right to free speech? (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

Now the game has changed. Since a stay was lifted earlier this week, police have the option of arresting people with three or more citations and taking them to jail for  “interfering with judicial process,” the fine is $2500 + six months in jail. The other change is police tactics is that they are not coming to the park like clockwork at 10:30 p.m. They warned the Occupiers earlier this week that they could come at any time to make arrests or they may not come at all.

On Thanksgiving, police arrested former Green Party Mayoral Candidate Mary DeCamp, who has 30 citations, for refusing to sign and agree to the paper arrest and citation. On Friday night, two more Occupiers–  Joan Zatorski Puca and Matthew Pence– were carted off to jail at 1 a.m. also for refusing the same reason.

Here is an account by  Alex Maldonado, an Occupation peacekeeper and member of  Veterans  For Peace…

Tonight, at approximately 1am, two more from Occupy Tucson were taken into custody, after seven TPD vehicles arrived at Veinte de Agosto Park for the nightly citations for staying in the park after hours.

Joan Zatorski Puca sat passive and silent as TPD took her into custody for refusing her citation.  TPD then proceeded to carry her limp body without handcuffs into a police cruiser.

A statement was read as Joan remained passive and silent with two TPD officers on each side of her.

“… who has never been arrested, much less walked into a jail…”

“… I ask you to surround me with your personal prayers this evening.  That I may stay committed to my decision to display non-violent behavior, speech, and attitude in the face of (what may be) a physically and medically challenging experience for me tonight (and beyond).

Matthew Pence was also taken into custody after refusing his citation.

Matthew was escorted to another police cruiser, and handcuffed and physically searched.

Matthew, who was also passive, was then seated into the vehicle and led away.

Occupiers and supporters waved and yelled words of encouragement to both as they were led away.

Occupy Tucson in Veinte de Agosto Park (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

Former Green Party Mayoral Candidate and staunch Occupy Tucson support Mary DeCamp was arrested and taken from Veinte de Agosto Park last night– Thanksgiving.

News bulletin from the Occupation…

Tonight, just after midnight, Mary DeCamp was taken into custody after supposedly refusing to sign her citation. Mary was seated into a police cruiser without handcuffs as occupiers waved and yelled words of encouragement as she was driven away. There are no further details.

Earlier this week, Occupy Tucson lost a legal battle as a Superior Court Judge Howard Fell lifted the stay order. Tucson Police are now allowed to arrest anyone who has received 3 or more citations for being in the park after curfew. With the arrests come more legal problems and a charge of interfering with the judicial process.

From FOX News…

What it means now is – if a person who has more than two tickets for violating the city code which prohibits sleeping in the park after 10:30 p.m. – goes back to the park after 10:30, they face the more severe crime “interfering with judicial process.”

The City of Tucson has been trying to use zoning restrictions against the Occupation for weeks; they finally won in court. Tucson Police have issued more than 600 citations to 99 people since the Occupation began; DeCamp was one of several local Occupiers with multiple citations. Upping the legal stakes on the Occupiers could crush the movement locally as people must decide if going to jail is a wise decision for themselves and their families.

As Tucson Police step up their efforts against the Occupation, local political figures are expressing support. Today the Arizona Daily Star published a supportive commentary by former Tucson Mayor George Miller and former City Council Member Molly McKasson.

Our feeling, however, is that fees [for park use] should be waived for all groups engaged in legitimate, peaceful protest.

And what could be more legitimate than protesting that 99 percent of our citizenry – reds and blues alike – are not being represented?

Nearly everyone who spoke in support of Occupy Tucson expressed their gratitude for our Constitution and its democratic guarantees of free speech and assembly, but as one man put it, “We just haven’t been exercising these rights.”

In classrooms across the country, it’s a message that social studies teachers (George, included) work to communicate every day: That voting and participating are the keys to real change; that just reading about history and listening to the news is no substitute for being part of history in the making.

The Occupy movement seems to us like a giant classroom in participatory democracy. At a time when our politicians seem unable to address the pressing issues, the Occupy movement has given people the hope that together we can create a healthier, happier, more productive and secure nation.

With lifetimes of engagement in citizen and official politics, we know firsthand the importance of participation.

We also know that it’s not a good sign when only 41 percent of the registered voters in the city (not counting those eligible but unregistered) voted in the last election. How can we have a strong democracy when 59 percent of those who are registered don’t vote at all?
Finally, a group of citizens is demonstrating displeasure and frustration with politics as usual, and with the lawmakers who focus on meeting the demands of the wealthiest 1 percent, while ignoring the middle class and the 14 million unemployed or underemployed Americans.

That is why Americans all across the country have embraced the Occupy movement, and why the demonstration in Viente de Agosto park is important for our community.

With poverty in Tucson now hovering at around 23 percent, and more foreclosures and fewer jobs on the horizon, we think it’s vital not to block the profoundly democratic expression that is going on in downtown Tucson. That is why we strongly support council member Romero’s proposal:
• Declare a moratorium on ticketing and fining protesters in Viente de Agosto park.
• Work with the Occupy participants to assure that all other park activities are respected.
• Explore moving certain public funds into local credit unions or banks that support and strengthen our local community.

We urge the entire the mayor and council to support this proposal, which we believe is not just a legitimate and constructive action, but a moral imperative to uphold the First Amendment in no uncertain terms.

UPDATE, Nov. 25: DeCamp has been released from jail. Her and her doggie are back at Veinte de Agosto Park.

UPDATE, Nov. 26: More arrests occurred on Friday night at Occupy Tucson. Check out this link.

Statue of Mexican Revolutionary Pancho Villa. (Image Credit: Pamela Powers)

Occupy Tucson has been evicted from Armory Park and the main library by the Tucson Police Department late last night. Rousting people out of their tents to ticket them is bad enough, but making them pack up their tents, kitchen, and belongings in the dead of night– after most of them have probably gone to sleep? What kind of an oppressive/passive aggressive city government to we have? What a cowardly action– making them move after dark when no one can see what the police are doing.

Who’s decision was this? The public deserves to know.

Below is a report from Alex Maldonado, one of the peacekeepers. The Occupation has moved to Veinte de Agosto Park (AKA Pancho Villa Park). You may remember that this was the original location.

Thursday night at approximately 11pm, the Tucson Police Department surrounded the perimeter of Armory Park with 80 officers and forced Occupy Tucson to vacate the park.

In two hours, Occupy Tucson had bugged-out and cleaned the park of any trash on the grounds.
The Tucson community showed up and helped during the bug-out process. Some who had only been following the movement on the internet, showed up and aided in the move.

There were no injuries to report on the occupiers. Some TPD officers were even sympathetic to the forced action against the occupiers as they could not help during the move but could only watch.

The Pima County Library Park was also vacated by the occupiers after TPD forced an evacuation of that park.

Currently, there are approximately 40 tents at the new base camp with approximately 60 occupiers holding their ground after what can only be termed as a successful and well organized bug-out from Armory Park.

Occupy Tucson has found its second wind.

I can’t help but think this eviction has something to do with the call to action made on Occupy Tucson’s facebook page yesterday afternoon. The Occupiers asked supporters to call or e-mail El Tour de Tucson organizers requesting that they make a deal with the Occupiers to co-exist at Armory Park on the race day (Nov. 19). When I sent a mail to Perimeter Bicycling Association of America, Inc. (the group that organizes El Tour), I received a very long, somewhat gruff response. Occupy Tucson has more than 6,500 followers on facebook, and when they have put out calls to action in the past, there has been a deluge.

Friday Call to Action: Occupy Tucson is asking supporters to come to Veinte de Agosto Park today (Friday) at 5:30 p.m. to demonstrate your support. Our first amendment freedom is at stake. From their facebook page:

This is a call to ALL, show your solidarity with OCCUPY TUCSON and come down to Viente De Agosto at 5:30 pm tonight (Friday) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyones 1st Amendment Right is at stake , the Mayor, council memeber and TPD needs to see all of you there, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT TUCSON !!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE: Local MoveOn.org activists are calling for Tucsonans to show their support for the Occupiers and come to Veinte de Agosto Park on Saturday, Nov. 5 at noon to issue their own citations against corporate robber barons. Here’s the link.

From MoveOn…

Our friends at Occupy Tucson are being issued citations for standing up and speaking out for the 99% of us who don’t have corporate lobbyists.

As many of you have by now heard, the City of Tucson evicted Occupy Tucson from Armory Park and Library Park last night. While this action was regrettable, the movement itself has not been discouraged. The Occupiers have relocated the base camp to Viente de Agosto Park and remains a strong, peaceful and committed community. Let’s continue to stand up for them, as they are standing up for us, the 99% who don’t have lobbyists and corporate legal departments to speak for us!

Thanks to all who have signed this petition in support of Occupy Tucson! We have collected nearly 4,000 signatures in support of the Occupiers, which will be delivered to the City Council at their next official meeting. [Nov. 9 is the next Mayor and Council meeting. ] Let’s show that the people of Tucson support freedom of speech and freedom to peacefully assemble! Meanwhile, the 1% who control over 42% of this naton’s wealth are not being held to account.

On Saturday, November 5th, MoveOn members and our progressive allies in Tucson will gather at Veinte de Agosto Park in Downtown Tucson to issue citations of our own – for crimes against the American public – to three of the biggest corporate banks on Wall Street: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Chase Bank.

RSVP: http://civic.moveon.org/event/makewallstpayaction/123019

At noon, we will gather at Veinte de Agosto Park at Congress and Church to show solidarity with our friends at Occupy Tucson. After Occupy’s noon general assembly, we (and any Occupiers who wish to join us) will march through Tucson’s financial district to present our tickets to the banks and kick off a “Move Your Money” campaign in Tucson.

Please note that the start of the rally has moved from Armory Park to Veinte de Agosto Park at Church and Congress, which is the new Occupy Tucson base camp. We will gather between noon and 12:30 and march from there to Chase, Wells Fargo & Bank of America for a peaceful sidewalk rally.

UPDATE 2: Here’s a link to images from the TPD raid of Armory Park.

UPDATE 3: Check out the video of the TPD sweep from the Tucson Sentinel.

UPDATE: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit against the Tennessee governor and other state officials– including 100 state troopers– for violating Occupy Nashville protesters’ first amendment freedom by citing protesters for breaking curfew laws– the same tactic that the City of Tucson is using. From News Channel 5…

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee has filed a lawsuit in federal court asking the state to stop enforcing the curfew that led to the arrest of Occupy Nashville protesters.

The ACLU is seeking a temporary restraining order against the new policies enacted last week by the state of Tennessee, claiming they violate the protesters’ First Amendment rights of free speech.[For the rest of the story, click here.]

UPDATE 2: A federal judge has sided with the Tennessee ACLU and the Occupy Nashville protesters and granted their request for a restraining order against the state– thus halting curfew citations. [For the rese of the story, click here.]

In dealing with the Occupation of downtown Tucson, our local government has taken passive aggressive route– hundreds of citations, demands for costly permits and insurance, threats of late-night sprinklers, and bureaucratic maneuvering.

Homeless in the shadows of corporate America (Image credit: Pamela Powers)

The city’s latest legal tactic– zoning restrictions– popped up during the court hearings last week. When someone receives a citation at a certain location and the court allows the city to place a zoning restriction on that person, they cannot go back to that location for fear of further legal action. (This tactic is often used to keep prostitutes and drug dealers from locations where they practice their trade.) In last week’s Occupy Tucson court hearings, City Attorney Mike Rankin, City Manager Richard Miranda (former Tucson police chief), and others asked the court to place a zoning restriction on the cited protesters. The judge said “no” to this idea last week, but as the protesters cycle through the court system they will appear before different judges. One of them could agree to place the zoning restriction on cited protesters.

That would change the whole ball game, according to former City Councilman Steve Leal, a vocal supporter of Occupy Tucson on his talk radio show on KJLL The Jolt. If people are systematically barred from Armory Park, the protest could dwindle as more and more protesters are cited. As fewer and fewer tents are seen, the public perception would be that Occupy Tucson is loosing steam and that protesters are giving up their fight against corporate greed. Unless new people step up and camp at Armory Park or the Occupation moves to a park without a curfew, Occupy Tucson will die a slow death in the court system as the activists are prosecuted.

Passive aggressive tactics are easier– physically– on the protesters than night sticks and pepper spray and, in terms of public relations, may be easier on local officials, but that doesn’t mean that Tucson has completely avoided bad press in their dealings with Occupy Tucson.

Two weeks ago, I posted this storywith a video of Occupy Tucson’s Craig Barber discussing the Tucson Occupation with Keith Olbermann on national television.

In recent days, Tucson’s 350+ $1000 fines levied on Occupiers made the national news– in the left wing media, at least– Democracy Now, The Nation, and In these Times.

From The Nation…

Occupy Tucson Needs Our Help

As my friend and colleague Greg Mitchell noted today in his invaluable live-blogging of the Occupy movement, “Perhaps the biggest little-told OWS local story is the massive number of arrests for OccupyTucson. Another 20 yesterday boosts overall total to an astounding (for the size) 351.”

And, unlike in Oakland, local authorities aren’t even trying to convince the rest of us that the Tucson police reacted defensively and appropriately in trying to ward off anarchist attacks. According to what Tucson Sergeant Maria Hawk told the weekly New Times, “most of the arrests were for remaining in a city park after hours.”

Hawk also estimated that on any given weekday in Tucson, there are about 100 “occupiers” demonstrating in city parks and on Tuesdays—when City Council meetings are held—and on weekends, that number increases to as many as 1,000 demonstrators. These are impressive numbers for a state without the liberal infrastructure of organized labor and nonprofit anti-poverty groups that has been supporting protesters in New York City, Boston and Washington, DC.

According to local activists, the Tucson Police Department is utilizing a strategy of financial and legal attrition to kill the movement by issuing criminal citations to occupiers who remain in any city park past 10:30 pm. This citation carries a $1000 fine, a potential prison sentence of six months in jail and up to three years probation. The rather sophisticated idea is to bleed the movement financially instead of using pepper spray and batons, which will only engender outrage and foster larger demonstrations. [For the rest of the story, click here.

Dinner time at Occupy Tucson, October 2011 (Image credit: Pamela Powers)

From In These Times…

Police Disguise Protest Sabotage As Public Safety

The Occupy movements, in addition to being some of the most important activist movements to come along in the United States in several decades, have helped underscore several societal crises. For example, the failure of the establishment media and the rise of the beltway pundit class, the disappearance of public space, and also vanishing civil liberties, to name only a few.

Occupy has also served as a reminder of the ever-present police state, which rather than acting to “serve and protect,” oftentimes crushes and suppresses freedom of expression. We’ve witnessed this in obvious, overt, batshit crazy behavior like police using horses to stampede into a Times Square crowd, and when Oakland police turned their city into a war zone. But there are subtler, far sneakier [guess who they are referring to here] ways so-called public servants such as firefighters and the police, and by extension city officials, use the law as a weapon, or a convenient scapegoat, to control a rebellious faction of the population…

Then there’s the outrageous example of Occupy Tucson, one of the comparatively smaller Occupy movements that has suffered a disproportionately large percentage of arrests. On any given weekday, there are about 100 occupiers demonstrating in city parks, according to Tucson Sergeant Maria Hawk. That’s not exactly a wild surge in the population, or anything that should overwhelm the city. Yet, an astonishing 351 protesters have been arrested since the genesis of the movement. Hawk admits “most of the arrests were for remaining in a city park after hours.” This was also one of the excuses given in Oakland, along with the usual, “your fuel tanks are going to raze the entire city to the ground” speech.

The citation carries a $1000 fine, a potential prison sentence of six months in jail, and up to three years probation. Tucson activists rightly view this as an effort by police to bleed the movement financially instead of using bad PR-generating pepper spray and batons. While Occupy Wall Street got its moments to publicly “battle” the police and display how a force gone wild stifles dissent, Tucson is being quietly suffocated in the dead of night, and most of the public will be none the wiser.

What’s so deeply nefarious about this kind of civil rights assassination is that curfew and fire safety laws were created with genuine good intentions. It makes sense to not want individuals walking around in secluded, dark spaces at night, or not allow people to create bonfires in the middle of grounds covered in dry grass. But these well-meaning laws are now being used to crush the First Amendment…

The NYPD, OPD [Oakland], and Tucson police don’t want a bloody, drawn out war on their hands. It’ll look terrible in the media, and public sentiment is already on the side of the protesters.

What police and city officials prefer is a death by a thousand subtle little cuts. Take the generators, issue tickets, pull down the tents, and make life unbearable for the protesters. Hope they give up and go home when it snows, and if that doesn’t work, try to freeze the bastards out. [Emphasis added.]