Police faced off against protesters at the Occupy Oakland camp early Monday morning, arresting roughly 20 people and clearing the area of the tents that have been in place for nearly a month.
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Occupy protesters anticipated the pre-dawn raid and readied for a violent confrontation, some donning protective masks while others distributed vinegar-soaked rags to protect against tear gas, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
Hundreds of protesters gathered on 14th and Broadway in Oakland in preparation for the raid.
Helicopters began to fly over the camp at 4 a.m. and many protesters packed up their tents, moving to the street or to a smaller park nearby.
Before the raid, protesters had planned to reconvene in front of the Oakland Public Library at 4 p.m. if they were evicted from Frank Ogawa Plaza.
Police in riot gear surrounded the camp by 5 a.m. and began to walk through the nearly deserted site vacated by the protesters.
By 6 a.m. they had moved in, arresting a group of “interfaith protesters” gathered near the plaza and clearing the remaining tents. By 7 a.m. police had declared the area a “crime scene” and moved out.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who has suffered politically over her resistance to the movement, toured the plaza with a police escort shortly afterwards.
In another blow to Quan, her legal adviser Dan Siegel resigned over the “tragically unnecessary” raid.
“Resigned at 2 am,” Siegel wrote on Twitter. “Support Occupy Oakland, not the 1% and its government facilitators.”
Though the showdown remained peaceful, the city warned residents to delay coming into work until after 10a.m. and the public transportation system, BART, shut down its 12th Street station due to the police activity.
There were a few moments of humor amid the altercations, however.
One couple got married in front of a line of riot cops, exchanging vows over the public microphone to chants of “get a tent!”
Another group climbed a tree, where they remain.
The Monday raid marked the latest standoff between the city and the protesters.
Quan and police have been pushing the Occupy Oakland campers to leave in the wake of the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Kayode Ola Foster, who died near the plaza on Thursday.
