A dozen Occupy Nashville protesters, undeterred by their arrests and six hours in detention, have marched back onto the Legislative Plaza this morning claiming victory in their cause.

“Whose plaza? Our plaza!” they yelled as they arrived in the rain.

Enforcing a new 10 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew on the Capitol grounds, state troopers arrested 29 demonstrators at 3 a.m. and hauled them away in buses to jail, ending the three-week occupation of the Plaza.

The magistrate of the court refused to hear the charges, saying the state didn't give the protesters enough notice of the curfew, which was announced only yesterday afternoon. The judge advised the Highway Patrol to free the protesters. But instead troopers detained them at the jail and began issuing citations for criminal trespass. They finally went free at around 9 a.m.

“It was a great first step,” says Occupy Nashville’s Adam Knight, an eighth-grade teacher. “Absolutely it was a victory. We showed solidarity. We stood together. It really galvanized our group. Now we’re going to gain momentum. They had to take us off and now we’re back.”

Tripp Hunt, a lawyer for Occupy Nashville, accused state officials of tricking the protesters.