The Occupy Charlottesville encampment in Lee Park came to an end late Wednesday night as 18 protesters were arrested for refusing to leave when city police entered the park to resume enforcement of the 11 p.m. curfew.
City police Lt. Ronnie Roberts said 16 protesters were taken to the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail while two were issued summonses and released. All 18 arrestees will be charged with trespassing for violating the city ordinance establishing the park’s curfew, Roberts said.
After giving the occupiers multiple warnings to vacate the park, more than 20 police personnel moved slowly and methodically to remove the remaining protesters one-by-one. Some walked out in handcuffs while others were carried, but the park was completely cleared of occupiers by approximately 1 a.m. today.
The occupiers chose to make their stand around a campfire just off of Market Street, with the largest group of arrestees locking arms in a circle before police pulled each protester out individually.
“Unfortunately, there were arrests that took place,” Roberts said after the operation. “But it was a non-violent type of arrest. I guess it would be mutual respect between both sides, is probably how I’d classify it.”
One female activist began screaming as she was being led away by police, prompting a rush toward a police barricade on 2nd St. NE and shouts about police brutality.
Two occupiers who had been designated as police liaisons were allowed to check on the distressed woman, but determined that she did not suffer any serious injuries.
“She’s alright,” said liaison Larry Bishop. “She may have a little bruising on the side of her face come morning, but she assured us she was fine.”
Bishop said the police lived up to their assurances of a smooth exit process for the occupiers willing to be arrested.
“Everything has gone well…,” Bishop said. “It’s been very orderly. There really haven’t been any difficulties. Everyone is exercising their rights and the police are doing their duty as they see it described under the law.”
A female activist stripped naked on Market Street shortly after 11 p.m. then crossed the street to sit among the protesters remaining in the park. Officers covered the naked woman with a blanket, and she was the first to be led away in handcuffs.
As police prepared to make the arrests, the occupy group recited the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech with members taking turns reading the words on their smartphones.
A large crowd gathered on Market Street to watch the proceedings, with some occupy activists and supporters loudly criticizing police for what they perceived as a violation of free-speech rights while spectators heckled the occupiers from across the street.
The occupy group chanted “This is what a police state looks like” as officers stood in a line between the Market Street sidewalk and the spot where the arrests were taking place.
Some spectators cheered the arrests, with one man shouting across the street: “Go home you brats!”
After police finished making the arrests, Jeff Fogel, an attorney who served as a legal advisor to the occupy group, criticized the Charlottesville City Council for hypocrisy for its treatment of the protesters.
“My impression was, they were patting people on the head and stabbing them in the back,” Fogel said.
Councilor Kristin Szakos, who was perhaps the occupiers’ most vocal defender on the council, came down to witness the events Wednesday night.
“I personally, as a councilor, feel very strongly that this is part of the speech that should be protected by the Constitution,” Szakos said. “And I personally disagree with us ordering them out.”
Tom McCrystal, a Charlottesville resident and former Republican candidate for the House of Delegates, was among the spectators who were glad to see Lee Park returned to its former state.
McCrystal commended the police for their self-control despite what he saw as “provocation” from the occupiers, and criticized the occupation as a “silly, self-indulgent, non-protest.”
“It’s not bravery when there’s no cost. They’re making essentially an empty statement,” McCrystal said. “There are other parts of the world where getting arrested is a dangerous thing.”
The occupy group plans to hold a meeting today at the First Amendment monument on the Downtown Mall, and has considered setting up another camp at the location directly in front of City Hall.
When occupier Bob Brigham was asked whether the group would attend the next council meeting on Monday, he suggested the city government had not heard the last from Occupy Charlottesville.
“We’ll be right outside,” Brigham said. “I think the City Council meeting’s going to come to us.”
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