Occupy Richmond is under attack by the city, state, and federal government. We are responding to events as they unfold in as fluid a manner as possible while refusing to sacrifice the general consensus model for decision making. This makes things tricky, but you can always stay up to date with us by checking twitter, facebook, or this blog.

Here are some bullet points on the latest developments:

• At present we are occupying Canal Walk near 12th Street. We are dealing with heavy surveillance by law enforcement at all levels of government. As such, this occupation could change at any moment. We have invested a lot of effort in developing contingency plans, so the oppressive behavior by the authorities will not deter us.
• Two of our brothers are presently in jail for felony charges of wearing a mask in public, possession of a controlled substance (apparently having a prescription is no defense!), and other lesser charges. Bail has been set at as high as $7500, and we are going to argue for a reduction in the amount. We will keep you posted with any new court dates where your presence could lend urgency to their cause. Please see the Wingnut’s excellent write-up for more details.
• Right now, Occupy Richmond members are converging on City Hall to voice their displeasure and petition for the redress of our many long-running and urgent grievances. Please come out and join us! Every person counts.
• At 1:30 PM today we will hold our next General Assembly. Meet us at Monroe Park near the corner of Belvidere and Main.
• If you have any footage, photos, recordings, etc. from last night or from any other point in the occupation movement, please let us know. Our media work group needs everything in order to get our message out effectively. We don’t have hired PR experts working for us, so the more we can rely on you to collect the story, the better we can make our case to the world! Email all photos and videos to occupyrichmondva.media@gmail.com.

This is where it all started, and this is where it will continue. Meet us for a rally at 2pm, after which we will come together at 7pm for our General Assembly in the VCU Compass outside VCU’s Cabell Library near Monroe Park.

I’m also happy to report that we raised bail money for the one member who needed it. However, we still have five people who are not being released from the jail. Therefore, we need to public pressure on the authorities to release everybody on either their own recognizance or bail. It is urgent that we place the public spotlight and citizen pressure on the institutions disrupting our first amendment activities!

Please call the Mayor at (804) 646-7970 and the following city council members:

• Kathy Graziano, President: (804) 320-2454
• Marty Jewell: (804) 646-5724
• Reva Trammel: (804) 233-7382

Early Monday morning, shortly after 1 am, the Richmond Police Department descended on Kanawha Plaza, where Occupy Richmond has been camped since October 15, 2011.

Shortly after arriving, police cruisers blockaded streets and lines of officers and horses were set up around the borders of our camp.

Richmond Police gave protesters at Occupy Richmond 15 minutes to collect their belongings and vacate Kanawha Plaza. Promptly after the 15-minute waiting period, Richmond Police swarmed the park. All of our property still remaining in the park was confiscated, collected, and designated for disposal. As the city’s dump trucks and front-loaders decimated our community, occupiers forced to watch from across the street joined together to sing the Star-Spangled Banner. We remained nonviolent at all times during the police action against us.

We unofficially account for 10 to 12 arrests. The majority were released with citations around 4 am while the remainder wait patiently at Richmond City Jail until the magistrate can see them.

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