11:20 – Updated Here’s a Huffington Post Blog Story about it, with a lot of other good articles underneath it.
8:54 AM: So the Oakland Police Department, and many other police departments, joined together to tear gas and rubber bullet (and don’t forget the Flash Concussion Grenades) the peaceful non-violent protesters into leaving. Then they kept it up all night. Turning the lights off before conducting the later attacks, so the news helicopters couldn’t see what was going on below.
I was not there. Frankly, I was afraid to be there, and with good reason, after hearing about what took place. Plus, arguably I’m more useful retweeting from my post – producing a stream of relevant tweets for those following along. Last night, they were following along in horror, and there were as many comments about how sad and horrible the current state of our country was for this to be taking place at all, as there were about the events themselves.
I have two first hand accounts from the Snow Park extension. I will keep them anonymous (heh! what a loaded word that has become :-], but they are probably available for comment if you are a member of the press and would like to talk to them.
Person 1: Young Male, Black – He was arrested in the Snow Park Camp at 6:10 am, when the cops rushed in. He was released this morning at 2am, and has been charged with “refusing to leave a park.”
Person 2: Young Male, White – Was not arrested (I know how it looks, but that’s not my point right now.) He went back to join the others at Occupy Oakland after the Snow Bank extension had been decimated. They tried to set up again yesterday, but were immediately Raided. He was downtown all of last night and said “cops have shooting us with bullets and tear gas pretty much all night and day.”