Showdowns, Deadlines and Escalating Violence: Occupy Wall Street | Sojourners

Showdowns, Deadlines and Escalating Violence: Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Oakland protester is arrested 1/28/12. Image via Getty Images.
A protester from Occupy Oakland is arrested in Oakland on January 28, 2012. Photo via Getty Images.

It’s deadline day for Occupy DC:

From MSNBC - Occupy protesters in the nation's capital were preparing for a noon Monday deadline set by federal park authorities to end camping at some of the movement's last remaining large encampments, with some "surprises" in store, one of the activists said.

From The Huffington Post - U.S. Park Police say an officer used an electronic stun gun on an Occupy DC participant who was tearing down fliers warning protesters about the ban on camping in McPherson Square.

Violence escalates at Occupy Oakland – tear gas used, hundreds arrested

From The Associated Press - The demonstrations in downtown Oakland broke a lull that had seen just a smattering of people taking to Oakland's streets in recent weeks for occasional marches that bore little resemblance to the headline-grabbing Occupy demonstrations of last fall.

From The Los Angeles Times - Officials in Oakland expressed outrage that protesters vandalized City Hall during an Occupy Oakland demonstration on Saturday. "We're tired of one faction using Oakland as their playground," Mayor Jean Quan said.

From CNN.com - In Oakland, the police chief accused the protesters of deliberately provoking authorities and flaunting their criminal behavior. While posts on Occupy Oakland's Twitter feed claim that police met the protesters "with munitions and violence." One read: "#OccupyOakland being teargassed smoked bombed & shot at w rubber bullets."

In the UK, Occupy London protestors are evicted from an office block, bailiffs accused of heavy-handedness

From The Guardian - Around 50 protesters were evicted peacefully from the UBS-owned building they had turned into an educational hub called the Bank of Ideas, shortly after midnight. Police and bailiffs then moved to evict squatters from another building in the complex, also owned by the Swiss banking giant, during which observers claim a photographer was punched in the face by a bailiff who allegedly then drove his car at speed towards at least one person and carried another on his bonnet.

Occupy meets the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

From The Washington Post - Much of the news, when it comes to the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum this year, has centered on Occupy WEF. The encampment — a five-minute walk from the Hotel Seehoff, and hidden in a parking lot behind a snow bank — housed a mixture of both press and occupiers. Two yurts, a small igloo and a temporary shed were adorned with banners in English and German. Buses and cars were parked nearby as a light snow fell.

For pictures from Occupy sites around the world, check out this collaboration between CNN and iReport.