Occupy L.A. protesters seek to thwart city's eviction bid through law

Occupy L.A. protesters seek to thwart city's eviction bid through law
The leaders of Occupy L.A. movement have filed a complaint against the city of Los Angeles, claiming their civil and constitutional rights were violated by an eviction order and ask for a federal injunction to top the bid.

The complaint was filed by Mario Brito, Katherine Knox-Davies, Jesse Dotson and other participants since the city approved the group's plan to camp out outside the City Hall in early October. They named Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Charlie Beck, chief of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, as defendants who are allegedly held accountable for the violation of the protesters' right and the eviction effort against the protesting mass.

The mayor and the city "engaged in arbitrary and capricious action in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments by first approving the Occupy presences for 56 days before suddenly revoking permissions through the unilateral action of defendant Villaraigosa," they complained.

The group seeks a temporary restraining order or a permanent injunction for the city to forsake its bid to close the park outside the City Hall, and to evict protesters from their encampment.

Earlier, Villaraigosa said that during a meeting he had with about 150 religious leaders, the participants signed on a letter asking the city to work with them.

"I said we will allow them to really encourage people to moving on," he said. "I think almost universally people believe that this encampment is not sustainable."

He also said that social service providers are offering more beds for homeless protesters.

Four people were arrested during an early-morning police action aimed at clearing the major traffic intersections and streets around the City Hall of several hundred protesters after a midnight deadline of eviction has passed.

Most protesters complied with requests to clear the streets around City Hall to accommodate morning traffic. But a handful of arrests have been made.

"So far it's been peaceful," Los Angeles Police Department Commander Andy Smith told media.

Villaraigosa, when addressing the incident afterwards on a local television channel, said the city "will enforce that park closure at a time when it makes sense for our officers, for their safety and for the safety of protesters."

The city will enforce the eviction, "but we will do so in a way where we can ensure as much as possible a minimal amount of force is used to it," he added.

Meanwhile, some protesters still remain at the scene, pledging to hold on. Some of them are willing to be arrested for the cause.

Many of the protesters who used to holed up in the camps have packed up and gone, leaving deserted tents behind. A number of camps have been torn down after their occupants have left.

The authorities will move people out of the park on their time schedule which is based on "when it makes the most sense," chief Charlie Beck said.

Editor: yan

English.news.cn   2011-11-29 06:02:46 FeedbackPrintRSS
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 28 (Xinhua)