Park Service warns Occupy DC about rats, drugs
By: Aubrey Whelan
11/28/11
washingtonexaminer.com
The National Park Service posted warnings at two Occupy DC campsites claiming that the protesters are attracting rats, urinating in public and using illegal drugs, sparking new speculation that authorities may be considering evicting the demonstrators.
The National Park Service insists there are no plans to force the protesters from McPherson Square or Freedom Plaza. The service posted warning letters at both sites warning protesters that camping, defined as sleeping and cooking in the park, is illegal.
The warnings also noted that there are "increasing problems of public urination and defecation, illegal drug and alcohol use, and assaults." Rats also are a problem even though the Park Service removes trash from both sites three times a day, the warning states. Park Service officials gave conflicting accounts of whether complaints from McPherson Square business prompted the warnings.
Occupiers at McPherson Square say they're not concerned about a potential eviction, but activists at Freedom Plaza, who deny the Park Service's accusations, said they consider the warnings "a first step to eviction and arrest." If it is, it would be the first evidence of a potential police crackdown on the D.C. occupiers, who have enjoyed broad support from city officials and the Park Service even as similar demonstrations in other cities have been hit with pepper spray and arrested in confrontations with police.
Protesters in Los Angeles and Philadelphia are the latest to face eviction warnings, though Occupy LA has defied the city's deadline to vacate and was still camped out near city hall Monday.
"We're trying to draw on our community support - faith groups, business groups - and have them contact appropriate officials to try to stop it," said Kevin Zeese, an organizer at Freedom Plaza.
Protesters met with Park Service officials Monday to discuss the warnings, Zeese said.
Jarrad Davis, a protester at McPherson Square, said the Park Service inspected the camp last week, but he described the inspection as routine.
Occupy DC has enjoyed relative peace compared to protests elsewhere in the country, making it a model for the Occupy movement, protesters said. The local demonstrations are highly organized, relatively clean and on good terms with police. Protesters from around the country - from Atlanta to New York to Raleigh, N.C. - have made pilgrimages to the camp in Freedom Plaza to learn how to stage an Occupy protest, protester Joseph Bratcher said.
"We try to learn from the other Occupys that have been shut down," he said. "Everyone comments on how organized and well kept we are."
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