Questlove Of The Roots Sends Twitter Warning Before Occupy Wall Street Raid

So, a little birdy, who happens to sport a large Afro, be one of the illest drummers around and is a voluminous tweeter, tipped off Occupy Wall Street protesters to the impending police raid of Zuccotti Park early this morning.

At 11:38 p.m. on Monday, Questlove of the Roots alerted his 1.76 million followers on twitter to a massing of officers in riot gear not far from Zuccotti Park, headquarters for the Occupy Wall Street protests.

He tweeted:

@questlove
Questo of The Roots

Omg, drivin down south st near #ows. Somethin bout to go down yo, swear I counted 1000 riot gear cops bout to pull sneak attack #carefulyall

November 15, 2011 4:38 am via UberSocial for BlackBerry Reply Retweet Favorite

Questlove’s tweet went out nearly an hour and a half before police stormed the park and tossed out the protesters that have been camping out there for about two months.

The original tweet though caught fire, and eventually folks from Occupy Wall Street took notice. But they initially wondered if it were some sort of movie filming going on or a police shift change. They tweeted as much at 12:38.

@OccupyWallStNYC
#OCCUPYWALLSTREET

Shift change as per usual? RT @DiceyTroop: @mcduh @questlove all quiet at the Park. What did you see questo? Maybe Batman stuff?

November 15, 2011 5:38 am via Twitter for Mac Reply Retweet Favorite

But Questlove, who appears on The Jimmy Fallon Show each weeknight along with The Roots, assured them something was about to go down.

At 12:39 he tweeted:

@questlove
Questo of The Roots

ok once again. South St in NYC. blocks from #OWS. saw a GANG (like at least 500+ geared up) standing in line gettin ready for somethin.

November 15, 2011 5:39 am via web Reply Retweet Favorite

Then at 12:46 that:

@questlove
Questo of The Roots

@OccupyWallStNYC if its shift change so be it. they always watch yall in the thousands like that?

November 15, 2011 5:46 am via web Reply Retweet Favorite

And about 15 minutes later:

@questlove
Questo of The Roots

@OccupyWallStNYC if you say so. i assumed cops in line blocks from #ows meant sweep. my bad yall. camp away.

November 15, 2011 6:01 am via web Reply Retweet Favorite

Not long after, the police in riot gear tore into the park. As word spread, Questlove was back on the keys, tweeting:

@questlove
Questo of The Roots

@OccupyWallStNYC wait. so i was right? #ows is being raided? told yall! tryna make me think i was crazy! i knew i saw what i saw.

November 15, 2011 6:03 am via web Reply Retweet Favorite

Police told demonstrators they had to empty the park for cleaning, citing "health and fire safety" hazards, and that protesters could either leave on their own volition or stay and be arrested. By 4 a.m. the park was cleared and hundreds of protesters.

According to The Associated Press, 70 arrests had already been made.

"You are required to immediately remove all property, including tents, sleeping bags and tarps from Zuccotti Park. That means you must remove the property now," read a notice handed out by police. "You will be allowed to return to the park in several hours, when this work is complete. If you decide to return, you will not be permitted to bring your tents, sleeping bags, tarps and similar materials with you."

Police said that protesters could return to the park, but without the sleeping bags and tents.

 

Comments

[Ohmin]

08:29 PM on 11/18/2011

OCCUPY HOLLYWOOD! now on Mixvid . net!

[1Davelow]

04:54 AM on 11/17/2011

Civil War is on the Horizen!

[pavinz]

03:41 AM on 11/17/2011

OWS Represents Modern Liberalism under the auspices of Obama............and it's not wearing well with the voters either...OWS is now down to 29 or 33% support (depending on which poll you read)

[smallstage]

12:13 AM on 11/19/2011

Your damn right is does. One of the few things we can be proud of under the President.

[pavinz]

03:37 AM on 11/17/2011

White House shooter, 21-year-old Oscar Ramiro Ortega of Idaho, we find that he was in Washington D.C. attending the Occupy protests there. But in every story I’ve seen that fact is only resides in the last paragraphs if it is mentioned at all.

[pavinz]

03:34 AM on 11/17/2011

“That’s life,” says Maxine Waters about crime at “Occupy” camps

[pavinz]

03:34 AM on 11/17/2011

Zuccotti Park protester Nkrumah Tinsley
arrested after threatening
to burn down city

[pavinz]

03:33 AM on 11/17/2011

Looks as if a ows protester has been arrested for threatening to burn New York down...meanwhile back at the funny farm....socialist Maxine Waters....said....well, that's life......

[falconsso]

12:23 AM on 11/17/2011

Like Napolean at Waterloo, the OWS had no chain of command or end game plan.

[falconsso]

12:17 AM on 11/17/2011

Pic proves good weed in NYC

[falconsso]

12:16 AM on 11/17/2011

Looks like the OWS train has come to a halt. Time to disembark.

[smallstage]

06:01 PM on 11/18/2011

think so. Well you just stand there and wait. Right there. On that big red X on the track. More people have been out in the past two days then ever. We taking the rich down, friend. Oh, not to the ground, and not all of them. But people like you, I assume your rich because no one else in their right mind defends them) you are going to have a tough time. You won't accept that you must share and play well with others. Go take a time out

[falconsso]

12:15 AM on 11/17/2011

Protestors - Move your camp to D.C.; Fannie and Freddie await you, with open arms and big bonus checks.

[falconsso]

12:13 AM on 11/17/2011

The Movie Title: Get A Life, Get Right or Get Left (Behind)

[smallstage]

12:14 AM on 11/19/2011

You really aren't aware of what's really going down are you. Two hundred millionaires have come forward . . . and sided with the occupy movement. What is your problem

[Orange22]

11:58 PM on 11/16/2011

was he wearing his warner brother t shirt.....yo he's a snitch

[boogie albert 56]

11:12 PM on 11/16/2011

Why is there no mention of the video showing a black protester in NYC talking of burning the f##king city to the ground. Also of throwing a molotov cocktail through Macy's window? This is supposed to happen in the next couple of days. I guess we will have to sit back and wait for it to happen before the lame stream media reacts to it.....OOPS, here it is.. http://www.raptureforums.com/forum/breaking-news-world-events/56554-ows-protester-threatens-macys-molotov-cocktail-burn-down-nyc-post841916051.html

[patrickbgawne]

11:19 PM on 11/16/2011

Hey, you were listening to Rush!

[boogie albert 56]

11:22 PM on 11/16/2011

check the link. I don't think this is Rush.

[Bob Calvin]

01:48 AM on 11/17/2011

I saw the video tonight. The guy has been arresting ofr communicating a threat.

[ccdae5]

10:35 PM on 11/16/2011

It's over.

[boogie albert 56]

11:12 PM on 11/16/2011

There is a new beginning that can get worse... http://www.raptureforums.com/forum/breaking-news-world-events/56554-ows-protester-threatens-macys-molotov-cocktail-burn-down-nyc-post841916051.html