PORTLAND, Maine — As the sun set on Portland on Monday night, only about 15 tents remained in Lincoln Park as OccupyMaine demonstrators made progress toward meeting city evacuation deadlines and discussed the future of their movement.
Many occupiers said the protest of corporate influence on government and growing income gaps between the wealthy and poor will continue through regular events, meetings and charity work.
OccupyMaine is the longest standing remaining satellite of the initial Occupy Wall Street, springing up in Monument Square on Oct. 1 and moving a few days later to its encampment site nearby in Lincoln Park. At its peak, OccupyMaine reportedly consisted of nearly 70 tents at the park.
After the City Council denied the group’s request to be allowed to stay there, the demonstrators filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court, arguing that forcing the protesters to move infringes on their constitutional rights of free speech and assembly.
But Superior Court Justice Thomas Warren sided with the city — which claimed the tent community is unsafe and unsanitary and that the occupation limits use of the city-owned park by other members of the public.
The city then gave the occupiers until 8 a.m. Monday to take down their tents and leave the park, later reportedly extending the evacuation deadline until Friday.
On Monday, after many recognizable tents and structures already had been disassembled and removed from the site, including a large kitchen tent and a plastic dome used as a meeting place, demonstrators told the Bangor Daily News they plan to continue promoting their message after the encampment is taken down.
Evan McVeigh, 26, who has camped at the site since its beginnings, said he plans to move to a Cape Elizabeth farm with a friend and push for societal change by volunteering at soup kitchens and other community organizations. He said he and most others at the camp would rather regroup and promote their agenda in other ways rather than face arrest for refusing to leave the park.
Some protesters previously had declared that they would not leave even if their lawsuit was denied by the court, creating potential for conflicts with police, but on Monday, those who spoke with the BDN said they plan to leave Lincoln Park. At other Occupy camps in the country, such as in California and New York, police forcefully removed the demonstrators.
“This encampment and its ideas mean a lot to me, but I’m not sure this is the place to make a stand,” McVeigh said. “I think people will move out at their own pace. There may be some who want to stay and take a stand. … To say that the encampment is not assembly, redress of grievances and free speech [as the city argued in court] is just ridiculous to me.”
Palmer Ryan was one of four occupiers individually named in the group’s lawsuit against the city.
“We’ve had such a peaceful relationship with the city,” she said. “I don’t want to be the one to put us on the map for being nasty like in other cities.”
Jake Lowry, who headed OccupyMaine’s media team in early October and went on to spend five weeks in the occupation in Washington, D.C.’s McPherson Square before returning to southern Maine in December, said the local group likely will continue holding its regular general assembly meetings to discuss political action and issues of concern to its members.
OccupyMaine members already have moved much of the books from the encampment library to the Meg Perry Center on Congress Street, where they use office space and plan to continue holding events.
“It’ll continue on,” Lowry said Monday. “When these evictions happen, it forces people underground and to rethink strategy. … I’ve heard the movement compared to water. It takes on any form it needs to in order to accomplish its goals.”
A government run by the 1% you oppose simply passes laws making your opposition illegal…nice
A democratically elected government lest you forget – I forgot Occupiers don’t recognize anything but their own views regardless of the realities of the “real world” they can’t seem to grasp.
They should stop burning American flags and they also should take their protest to the White House. Oh yeah, the OWS movement likes Obama and his Wall Street cronies, so that’s why they’re not allowing our families safe access to local parks.
Congratulations Occupiers on accomplishing nothing. Best of luck finding free camping elsewhere.
I can’t think of any reason why there shouldn’t be a place where American citizens can live without paying $$$ to the landlord class and the bankers. Out West there are millions of acres of public lands (BLM) and national forests where thousands do live for FREE. It seems Maine is sorely lacking in public lands. The redneck class thinks open land is somehow socialist and would rather give their hard earned welfare checks to rich bankers and landlords. Oh and of course sucking up to big land owners and paper companies is part of that tradition. I know the sight of young people camping is frightening, perhaps closing your eyes and sucking down another Allen’s would help. It’s OK blue tarps are just blue tarps … NO REASON TO FEAR THEM. BOO !!
They are leaving and not beating people smashing windows out of building’s haven’t heard of maine occupy groups burning flags, I’d say they took the high rode compared to the rest across the country you think, as American’s you would congradulate them for that.lol this is America that will never happen, and the people paying for our president’s campaign and repub’s campain will continue raping your grand children.It’s ok though with luck we will pass away be4 country falls our grand children can deal with the aftermath .
One of the occupiers burned a flag in Lincoln Park in Portland.
So what, American soldiers murdered and tortured Iraqi civilians women and children. You can’t judge all by the actions of one …. And that includes occupiers and soldiers …. This the old bad apple theory ….. Remember
LMFAO I guess its okay to burn flags because its not really OWS or there are other bad thing going in the world. Liberal logic at its finest; it is to laugh.
Better try and figure out what logic actually is before using the term. Just because one person burns a flag doesn’t mean everyone does. Or are you still worried about Obama’s birth certificate? Or that he hasn’t caught Osama? Oh wait he has, or was that Bush? Gosh now I’m confused.
I didn’t participate in any OWS activities but in some ways, I’m sorry to see them closing up camp. Each time the oil truck comes to my house, I get an $800 bill. Every time I go to Hannaford ( Cant-Afford ) for a few things I leave $45.00 poorer. It is next to impossible now to pay my bills and I have a full time job. When I lose my house, my ace-in-the-hole was the Occupy sites. At least I would have a place to sleep. Now I guess I’ll be sleeping in my car. Presuming of course I can keep up with my car payments.
Worst part of it, Augusta and Washington have no idea how bad it is here in the trenches. They have no money worries. And they are more concerned about politics and their election campaigns and careers than they are about us. As long as we keep voting the fat cats into office, they will continue to enjoy their $500/plate fund raisers while the rest of us feast on Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
That must be the reason that millions of South Americans are risking death and violence to come to the US.
Just how much “social justice” are these losers going to accomplish , when they can’t even see through the mist enough to recognize the puppeteers in the background of this whole disgusting occupy fiasco?
Buy the local generic brand of macaroni – its cheaper.
So, they had 16 tents as of Sunday and 15 as of Monday. Gotta love the work ethic of these little spoiled Momma’s boys.
This is just a corporate ploy!
Once they have driven the country into a third world status,
people will have gotten used to seeing people living in Tents!!!!!
What are you people going to do when you wake up one morning an read the paper an the head lines says the country is bankrupted ? Every thing starts to shut down theres no work an you lost every thing even your bank account ect. ?
Thats why one should keep money overseas, its a shelter from the misgivings of ill tides
This country is bankrupt!!! It is only a matter of time before what you say happens….be prepared because it will happen.
yes i know it will
Barack Obama is coming to Portland in March for fund raising. Too bad they wouldn’t leave this Lincoln Park dump intact until he arrives. He could do some of his stump speechifying from this Shantytown Slum. But, it’s beside the point. The secret service wouldn’t go along with it.
So BDN, why haven’t you mentioned the fact that an American Flag was burned? Liberal bias much!
Volunteer work? What a joke! These bums do not know what work is.
According to their own words; over half of these people were homeless to begin with. I dont think they have a political point at all other than being able to pitch a tent up in the middle of town and that was their agenda right from the beginning.
Occupying anything is not going to get one anywhere in this country. What you say does not count.
You should run for office on the Know Nothing platform.
Whatever.