POSTSCRIPT:

What happened tonight? Occupy Wall Street camps in Atlanta, Dallas, St. Louis, Seattle, and Boston were all threatened with eviction and arrest. Police moved in with a show of force in the late hours… but only in Boston did they actually make arrests, and only to shut down camp #2.

So… what the hell? Police forces in five major cities all just happened to decide to make a major alpha-male display on the same night? And all backed down, except for Boston – where the cops took out the smaller, overflow camp (with the justification that the occupiers were “endangering the plantings in the park!).

This is weird. And creepy. And stinks of some kind of national coordination.

UPDATE 2:45 EDT: Paul Weiskel (@PWeiskel08) tweets: Riot cops headed to main camp. Their intentions are not apparent.

UPDATE: Longer video of the first Boston arrests:

UPDATE 2:15 superbranch tweets: Steady stream of people being walked to wagons in plastic cuffs. Police refusing to give medical attention to protesters.

UPDATE 2:10 (EDT) @ Matifesto: Ambulances are being called to the # OccupyBoston site. Possible casualties of police brutality

UPDATE 2:10 (EDT) Tim Capuato of #7 news reports tents and belongings are being loaded directly into garbage trucks and crushed. Confirmed from others on the ground. In San Francisco they were impounded and returned the next day. This is disgusting.

UPDATE 2:02 (EDT) As the crowd chants “Shame, shame, shame!” A demonstrator bellows at police, “we are veterans of the united states of America!” But four cops grab him and haul him away. Video from Tim Capuato of #7 news at twitvid

UPDATE 1:59 (EDT) OccupyBOS_Media Camp 2 totally destroyed. All tents in a pile.

UPDATE 1:56 (EDT): MattFilipowicz tweets: Witnessed a young woman screaming for a medic as cop dragged her off at # occupyboston , medics across the street did not move.

UPDATE 1:56 (EDT) Cops arresting protesters. Taking them out back of park (via)

UPDATE 1:53 (EDT) @ AyeshaKazmi was blocked from taking photos and was charged. As @caulkthewagon tweets, this is “Unreal.”

UPDATE 1:50 (EDT) RT @ Occupy_Boston: Veterans For Peace beat down to the ground, flags falling all over, people being dragged away.

UPDATE 1:40 (EDT): Police are moving in. Veterans for Peace say they will stand between the occupiers and the police.

UPDATE 1:36: 18 large paddy wagons have moved in. Looks like they’re planning on arresting everyone.

UPDATE 1:30 (EDT) Matt Tomlin TomlinM tweets:

BPD just gave 5 minute warning to dispurse. Riot police now surrounding Greenway RT @nadeemtron : 10 paddy wagons and 10 paddy vans, 25 cops in front of 530 atlantic, 75 at purchase and pearl. Riot gear and plastic cuffs.

UPDATE 1:25 (EDT): Paul Weiskel (P@PWeiskel08) tweets: Just told by 2 bikers that motorcycle cops are getting into formation on the other side of south station…. Line of cops walking up the streets. Let’s go!

Follow it on the LIVESTREAM

EARLIER:

It’s unclear at this hour what’s going down at Occupy Boston, but the Boston Police threatened mass arrests if the occupiers didn’t vacate one of the city parks they have camped in by midnight – 27 minutes ago.

Apparently they haven’t learned that the only time the media pays attention to Occupy Wall Street is when the police move in and start macing and beating.

Meanwhile, Atlanta police came out in force, but as of now (12:30 Eastern) they appear to have stood down.

UPDATE: Occupy Atlanta is going into a post-midnight General Assembly, with word that they will be addressed by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. @OWSAtlanta

And in New York, Mayor Bloomberg says the demonstrators can stay “Indefinitely“.

Boston protest gets too big?

@Boston_Police has been communicating with the demonstrators via twitter. Isn’t that awesome? Earlier today, they said, “BPD requesting protestors return 2 original @ Occupy_Boston site on Greenway to continue peaceful protest. Thank you 4 ur cooperation.” By way of further explanation, they tweeted: “BPD seeks to curtail additional damage to newly developed green space at second site… the Greenway Conservancy recently invested over 150k in new plantings 4 all to enjoy @ 2nd site. Pls return to original… # occupyboston The BPD respects your right to protest peacefully. We ask for your ongoing cooperation”

UPDATE: Watch this video, as police VIOLENTLY throw protestors through those ever-so-delicate plantings that just HAD to be protected. Just great…

The demonstrators had sent some of their tenters over to the second site because the first park – less than a city block – was getting too crowded. Apparently the police either didn’t like that, or took this as an opportunity to shut things down, because they are now threatening to arrest everyone if they don’t vacate the second site.

WTF? As the Occupy Boston committee notes, they have been cooperating with the Greenway Conservancy, which till now has been so fine with it that they have even posted on their website:

As you may know, activists have pitched tents on the Dewey Square lawn, as part of Occupy Boston. All scheduled Greenway events are going forward, as planned. Occupy Boston organizers have been cooperative with the Conservancy and the Boston Police Department to date, and have agreed to avoid the planting beds and adhere to common sense rules of conduct. The Boston Police Department will handle potential public safety issues. We will keep you informed as the situation evolves.

And in a statement issue on October 6th, the Greenway Conservancy stated that they recognized the Occupy Boston was an “extraordinary situation”, and were willing to wave the usual rules and cooperate with the occupiers. Tonight the police are showing up… to protect people who don’t need or want protecting.

Now the police are a few blocks away, in riot gear. Waiting.

The park looks pretty and not at all trashed – check it out yourself on the Occupy Boston Livestream.

Mila Jacob Stetser (@jstetser) tweets:

“Boston Police have now forbidden the use of cameras at the # OccupyBoston protest site. Reporters/media are being kicked out.”

We will rack up arrest records ten miles long. We don’t fucking care. We have nothing left to lose… We are thinking of our parents, who are growing older. We are thinking of our future children. We are going nowhere.”

We’ll keep adding to this post as this story develops…

Atlanta authorities stand down

Earlier today the Atlanta police met with demonstrators and told them they would enforce city ordinances… that is, they would close all parks at 11:00 pm. They were there earlier in the evening with vans, bomb squad, mounted officers, the works… but now they appear to have backed down.

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(Top image by @rschulteison7 at twitpic)