At Least Five Occupy Protesters Booked Into Jail After Encampment Raid
Forty-five protesters were arrested during a cleanup of an illegal Occupy encampment in downtown San Francisco late Wednesday night, a police spokesman said.
Thirty-nine protesters camping on the sidewalk in front of the Federal Reserve building at 101 Market St. were cited for illegal lodging around 11:30 p.m., San Francisco police Officer Albie Esparza said.
At least five others were booked into jail, including one person on a felony warrant, Esparza said.
At least one juvenile was also arrested at the camp.
Esparza said that police had been distributing leaflets to those camping in the area illegally in recent weeks to warn protesters that the encampments were not allowed and would be removed.
The Occupy encampment was completely cleared by 2:15 a.m. today.
Officers have been monitoring the area today to ensure that campers do not return, Esparza said.
The camp had been erected last fall at the height of the Occupy movement and was the surviving remnant after a nearby camp at Justin Herman Plaza was cleared last winter.
The tents went up as part of the nationwide Occupy movement that began in New York City in September 2011.