More than 300 people were arrested during an Occupy Oakland protest on January 28, 2012, after city officials expressed frustration and outrage at some of the tactics used by the demonstrators, the LA Times is reporting. Deanna Santana, the City Administrator, said the city won’t “be bullied by threats of violence or illegal activity…Breaking into buildings, assaulting police officers, provoking confrontations and vandalizing property are tactics that are counterproductive and divide our community.”
Multiple arrests occurred after demonstrators “ignored the dispersal order and assaulted officers,” police said. Three officers were injured in the process.
Mayor Jean Quan said that “this particular faction of Occupy…they’re very violent, and I’m going to be asking for a lot more mutual aid. They are hurting the neighborhoods by continuing to do this.”
Demonstrators and police in riot gear faced off at a rally near City Hall. Hundreds of protesters then marched to the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center. There they began tearing down the fencing around the auditorium, and police moved in to stop them.
In a flier distributed at the beginning of the march, organizers said the movement needs a home. Since “thousands of buildings sit empty-for the simple reason that they exist to enrich the one percent…With our own space we can create a social center that begins to meet people’s needs…and work to build a world based on humanity and community, not profit.”
Written by: Karen Benardello
