Occupy DC Activists Arraigned In McPherson Square Police Clash

WASHINGTON--Two members of Occupy DC will remain jailed until at least Thursday on charges they assaulted police officers during Saturday's clash with police who razed a downtown encampment.

A handful of others were arraigned on less serious charges that included failing to obey police and released. Charges were dropped against two. One person was arraigned down the street in U.S. District Court on a failing to obey police charge and released. Those arrested were rounded up early Saturday as U.S. Park Police razed activists' months-long encampment at McPherson Square. Police raided nearby Freedom Plaza the next day, but left many tents in place. The moves, though anticipated by the Occupy activists, shocked them nevertheless as police arrived with a dump truck and protective hazmat suits.

A D.C. Superior Court judge set a hearing for Thursday for the two charged with assaulting police officers and said they would remain jailed until then. One is Jeremiah Desausa, accused of throwing a Coke bottle that struck a police officer in the eye. Police said over the weekend that the activist had thrown a brick, but a court document described it as a soda bottle filled with liquid.

About a dozen Occupy DC activists showed up to watch the arraignments, in a Superior Court basement. They included one legal observer as well as lawyer Ann Wilcox. Several took careful notes, some on newspaper. It was a contrast from McPherson Square. Instead of screaming Occupy chants, the activists had to obey the courtroom's no-talking policy. Whispering was met with a courtroom minder's stern warning and threat of eviction.

It was a long afternoon. Those arrested face charges ranging from failure to obey an officer's order to felonious assault of a police officer. One by one, they were brought into court in chains and cuffs, some in white jumpsuits. One appeared with his arm in a brace and sling; the activists said his arm was broken.

Brian Eister, 25, who was charged with failure to obey, was one of the first released. He said he wanted to return to McPherson Square for some yoga exercise.

Wade Simmons, 41, had been charged with making threats to a police officer. He denied wrongdoing and was released after being arraigned, pending his next court date. He was most upset over the judge granting a stay-away order, temporarily banning him from Freedom Plaza. "How long is this?" he asked the judge. She replied that he had to check with his lawyer. He had been camping with Occupy DC since Oct. 15.

Michael Patterson, 21, an Iraq War veteran arraigned on a felony charge of assault on a police officer, said outside the courtroom that he "didn't do anything."

Patterson said Occupy DC's eviction did not matter. "The camp was just a tactic," he explained. He had traveled from Anchorage, Alaska, to join to Occupy DC in early-October. Now, he can't go near the place; he too got slapped with a stay-away order.

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Comments

[Los Pepes]

01:07 AM on 02/11/2012

I wish there was more reporting on what an outright conn these leftist protest movements are. I wish the press would school us on the game of manipulation they play because I don't think the average person is hip to it. For example they swear up and down how they have a constitutional right to build shanty towns in public parks But then when they moved out they say:

"Occupy DC's eviction did not matter. "The camp was just a tactic," he explained."

[Pizza4dinner]

03:19 PM on 02/10/2012

Two words sum up the CampOut Crowd: Loser & Astroturf. The Daily Caller is reporting on how the Campers are so pathetically lame. Protesters at Friday’s “Occupy CPAC” event, organized by AFL-CIO and the Occupy DC movement, told The Daily Caller that they were paid “sixty bucks a head” to protest outside the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.

One protester told TheDC that all the “Occupy” activists were being paid to protest, and that his union, Sheet Metal Workers Local 100, approached him about the money-making opportunity.

“I have nothing nice to say about Local 100. … They just told me ‘you wanna make sixty bucks? So c’mon,’” the protester said.

Other “Occupy CPAC” protesters were unwilling to speak on camera because they were unaware what they were protesting and what the CPAC event was about.

Dear Nancy Pelosi, if you want to rightly call a "movement" AstroTurf, this is it.

[itswhite]

02:45 PM on 02/09/2012

Beggars. Begging is the foundation of nothing.

[JordanPerry]

02:25 PM on 02/09/2012

I support those on the line at occupy locations around the world. It's not about camping. It's about organizing a collective voice of people to act for change. Protest is messy. Just like war. Free all these prisoners!

[HammerHead0005]

02:28 PM on 02/10/2012

"t's about organizing a collective voice of people to act for change."

No it isn't. If it was, all they would have to do is find someone in the movement with a big piece of land out in the country, and all camp there instead. They'd be on private property with the owner's permission, so there's nothing the cops could do about it. And if there isn't anyone in the movement with a piece of land like that, a few dollars apiece from everyone in the movement would be enough to buy one, that they could use as their permanent headquarters.

But they don't do that. Because, obviously, it is not about organizing a collective voice. It's about bothering people and trashing things and throwing temper tantrums. That's all.

Either that, or they're, like, ideologically opposed to doing constructive things that might actually solve some of the problems they complain about. Which, now that I think about it, is perfectly possible as well.

[KarasudaJay]

01:38 AM on 02/09/2012

Apparently, to the government Americans elected, a camping ordinance overrules the First Amendment's Right to Assembly.

[itswhite]

02:49 PM on 02/09/2012

You have time limits in public areas, voted on by the public. so that others may use public areas for recreation and picnics. Your right to assemble can't interfere with public saftey, as these laws were also voted on, by voters. If you would like to assemble in one of your protesters properties, then you can protest forever. If you were a voting member of society, you'd know these things.
Your begging will not get you anything but a handful of quarters.

[KarasudaJay]

12:18 AM on 02/10/2012

The public never voted on the camping rules, that was the USPPS. They weren't interfering with anybody's safety. They were annoying and smelly, but but largely harmless.

[HammerHead0005]

02:35 PM on 02/10/2012

Nothing overrules the right to assembly. You can assemble all you want on your own property, or on property you have permission to be on.

Why can't I just organize a peaceful protest in your living room? Because it's YOUR living room. The First Amendment doesn't give me the right to break OTHER laws while I'm peaceably assembling.

[KarasudaJay]

09:00 PM on 02/10/2012

Excellent, so the government just has to say "Well, you can't protest anywhere between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, but otherwise you can protest all you like". The thing about rights is that they aren't supposed to be easily overruled. Should we start knocking down protection of free speech as well? Say what you like, but not on public property, you might offend somebody.

[DUSAA-1775]

05:16 PM on 02/08/2012

So two men who are charged with felony assault on a police officer and threatening a police officer claim that they are innocent??

They will blend right in with the prison population.

[itswhite]

03:21 PM on 02/09/2012

Well maybe not prison, but certainly will look impressive for a prospective employer. 'Ooooh, look, an arrest record, let's hire him over the other 25 applicants that don't have one...'.

[ambrecel]

02:39 PM on 02/08/2012

Luckily Occupy has worked, policies are being looked and that is what activism does, policy changes with protest in a Democratic Republic, voting is a protest too if people think about it, I vote for something, and am protesting against this. Register to Prostest, Register to vote!

And the arrests are not right.

[roberttsf]

01:59 PM on 02/09/2012

I agree with the first part of your statement completely.

However, if you hit a police officer with a beer bottle or do not comply when they ask you to move, you get no simpathy from me when they lock you up.

[ambrecel]

02:37 PM on 02/09/2012

I can respect that, because authority does deserve respect.

[itswhite]

02:54 PM on 02/09/2012

No policies are being looked at. Nothing is being investigated. Occupying anything hasn't worked for anything but using public money for clean ups. Voting is not a protest, it is the right and duty of every legal American. If the people are breaking the laws that we voted on, then the need to be arrested. The same way people are arrested for anything else. We pay local sales/income taxes for this. They could do more for their cause by going to work and putting some money in their own pockets and not waiting for someone else to do it for them.

[MrOnePercent2012]

10:40 AM on 02/08/2012

Yippee!
This makes me a happy bird.

[williamabn]

10:50 PM on 02/07/2012

Am I totally mistaken or have I read over and over by the OWS posters , That this is a nonviolent non confrontational movement . And there only goal was to make others aware of the atrocities committed by wall streets banking practices . Will I guess they blew that . Now they remin delusional that huge numbers of Americans support them . Every rally puts a wider distance between them and the rest of our society . Keep it up .

[Mac Donald]

12:24 AM on 02/08/2012

They are so blind they actually think they are winning.

[MrOnePercent2012]

10:41 AM on 02/08/2012

No one supports them now. They are history. And to think some colleges are teaching classes on this "non movement." Sad.

[williamabn]

01:00 PM on 02/08/2012

MrOne , Mac , Blind and teaching what ? How to combat that feeling of a Grandiose sense of self entitlement ? To overcome there lack of Empathy for the damage and distress the put there fellow Americans thru ?There impulsive nature when confronted by those that don't agree with there movement or Law enforcement ? Or the need to overcome there lack of remorse , Shame or guilt . ( The end justifies the means and they let nothing or no one stand in there way . ) I just hope that's the class that's being taught . No likely . Just getting credits for fueling more Sociopath behavior .

[prettyrebel]

08:52 PM on 02/07/2012

Oh, just because this not the tea party they should not be taken seriously? You know it is easy to say that they are a joke when you are not out there fighting for a cause. You Butt Wipes that think such must be well off. These people come from all walks of life who have personal grievances against the 1%. Look how long these protests lasted. They are going to be around for a while so get used to it non-believers. At least they have the guts to stand up to BIG BROTHER!! Today they are a nuisance, tomorrow a revolution! GO OCCUPY 2012

[Mac Donald]

10:23 PM on 02/07/2012

Well I hope you can get more than a few thousand together for your "Revolution". You guys are getting kicked out of camps right and left and most of America is quite happy to see you go. Occupy is a "joke" because you ticked off ordinary Americans with your squatting and destruction and you can't take it that they would actually back law enforcement over you. You the one who is going to have get used to it because it's going to be more of the same, no support for your dying movement.

[prettyrebel]

11:11 PM on 02/07/2012

I here ya Mac Donald. You know they speak for those who come to them on their websites and voice their grievances. This movement helped keep people in their homes. A lot of these people gave up their material goods for this cause. Can you or would be willing to do that? They have planted a seed and I hope they continue their non-violent protest. They still have my support. The established order are going to answer to them eventually These young people are doing something that their parents should have done long ago and maybe we would not be in this position. If you do not stand up for something, you will fall for anything. Occupy 2012!!!

[alwaysfarright]

12:51 AM on 02/09/2012

Just watched a video where the OWS mob in Portland, Oregon smashed business windows, car windows, set fires.

[roberttsf]

03:51 PM on 02/09/2012

yeah but the "real radicals" are the teaparty. lol

[Libwatcher]

07:11 PM on 02/07/2012

Meanwhile, an Occupy Pittsburg protester was arrested for being a convicted sex offender who failed to register. Such a nice group of people, these occupiers. You can't even take them seriously anymore.

[Andrew Nutra]

06:01 PM on 02/07/2012

OWS is theater. This is the age of instant fame through blogging, Facebook, reality shows, etc. Everyone now wants to be on the spotlight. OWS' main goal is to get themselves written and talked about. The attention they get makes them feel all warm and tingly inside, relieves some of the boredom, white middle class guilt and envy they harbor for successful Americans. Who cares if they have no leader, or if they're about too many things (many contradict­ory), or up to this point haven't decided if they should harass, threaten or alienate other 99% non - OWS people. Are drumming and squatting really the most effective use of their energy and the most sustainable way to bring on a new world order? It's not the point. As long as they get attention, they're going to keep doing what they're doing. Ultimately, OWS will just be another form of speech. Some people speak, some write, some vie for attention by theater.

[desertdreamer]

02:39 PM on 02/07/2012

The people united will never be defeated!!

[Libwatcher]

07:12 PM on 02/07/2012

You sound like a 60's hippie.

[desertdreamer]

07:41 PM on 02/07/2012

LOL!!!

[Mac Donald]

07:22 PM on 02/07/2012

Except in Miami, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Austin.......

[desertdreamer]

07:24 PM on 02/07/2012

You know so little. THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!!!!

[sgtscottm2]

02:15 PM on 02/07/2012

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/occupy-vs-tea-party-you-be-the-judge/question-2414971/

this is for those who think that the Tea Party is violent and OWS is peaceful.

[MrStat1]

12:45 PM on 02/07/2012

Next time these little dirt ba***gs should think twice about what they are doing. Of course, now that they have arrest records their odds a getting any kind of a decent paying job are all but toast! But then they might begin to figure that out by the time they are say 50! What a wasted life!

[noahmarder]

04:04 PM on 02/07/2012

An employer can't ask if you've ever been arrested - only if you've been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. A wasted life is one spent slaving away for a corporation only to be laid off and sink into poverty in middle and old age. You advertise yourself to believe in the rule of law. Why don't you read the Constitution and Bill of Rights. If you truly believe in the rule of law, you will protest too after you realize how your legal rights are being stripped away. It is more likely that you will rationalize away the differences, because that is what most conservatives do. They are too mentally weak and insecure to accept that the real world conflicts with the worldview spoon fed to them by Rupert Murdoch.

[williamabn]

11:01 PM on 02/07/2012

noha , Most employers today run a background check on new hires . Especially if you deal with the public in any fashion as there representative . Also if your employer offers insurance of any kind , The insurance company automatically wants your background . If a company wants you bonded for any reason you will be checked also .many applications ask if you have been convicted for a felony . I know , I have filled them out . If you don't want to work for them and have something to hide . Don't apply .

[Andrew Nutra]

04:14 PM on 02/07/2012

That's why they wear masks so when this silliness ends and they have to go to corporations for jobs they're hoping no one would recognize them.