Police Raid Occupy Cal

From the Daily Cal:

At approximately 3:30 a.m., around 50 police officers in riot gear arrived in Sproul Plaza and told demonstrators to begin packing up the tents which were on the Sproul Hall steps.

Police told demonstrators that students would be allowed to remain on-campus but would not be allowed to camp. Non-students were forced off-campus. Demonstrators were told that anyone who camps on-campus would be arrested.

By 4:30 a.m., no tents were left on the Sproul Hall steps. As of 5 a.m., police still surrounded the encampment site and the approximately 35 protesters in Sproul Plaza milled about and shared testimonies via a megaphone. Protesters also tried to rally more support by calling and texting friends.

Two demonstrators, including one UC Berkeley student, were arrested during the encampment’s clearing, according to UCPD Lt. Alex Yao. Yao said the arrests were “done peacefully.” The arrestees were charged with illegal lodging and failure to disperse when given a dispersal order and transported to Oakland’s Glenn E. Dyer Detention Facility for processing.

There is no such thing as a peaceful arrest. Whether or not they draw their batons and "nudge" you, whether or not they spray you with pepper spray or shoot you in the head with a tear gas canister, their every intervention is backed up by the threat of violence. What separates the baton strike from the threat of the baton strike is simply a matter of degree. The ultimate effect on the target -- that she moves back, that she takes down and removes her tent, that she shuts up and goes away so that "business" can go on "as usual" -- is the same.

There will be a General Assembly at 6 pm tonight.