OntheWilderSide

Update on Friday morning:

More than two dozen arrested at Occupy Cincinnati. Cincinnati.com has updated story: here.

From Cincinnati.com:

“A spokeswoman for Occupy Cincinnati said the group will return to the park today and hold an 8 a.m. press conference.

According to a press release posted at at occupycincy.org, the protesters said they were upset about the arrests, but that the protests would go on.”

Update at 1:07am:

It appears from the Occupy Cincinnati Live Stream that about 20 protesters were arrested in Cincinnati, simply for being in the park (which homeless people live at, and some of the occupiers now call home). If you are awake, please watch, and be a number for the police to see on the Live Stream ticker! I have to go to sleep…

Updates from Cincinnati.com, up to 10:30pm:

UPDATE: 10:30 p.m EST No arrests have been made and there are reportedly no police around as protesters chant “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! Whose park? Our park!”

UPDATE: 9:55 p.m. Some Occupy Cincinnati protesters were packing up and leaving Piatt Park as the 10 p.m. closing time neared and threats of arrests loomed.
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KW writes: I am still tracking down the latest updates. But, if you know someone in Occupy Cincinnati, give them a call. If you are close by, you may want to show up and support.

At the Live Stream, someone said you could call the Mayor’s Office and ask him not to evict demonstrators: Mayor Mallory’s Office801 Plum Street, Room 150Cincinnati, OhioPhone: 513-352-3250. (See more contacts at the bottom of this post).

Some places are reporting that the police in Cincinnati may start removing people at 10pm tonight (Thursday, October 20th). Though, that seems to contradict reports at Democracy Now! and elsewhere that a Federal Judge ordered the police to stop ticketing protesters. Could the police be playing a game, and ceasing on the tickets, but kicking them out physically? I am not sure.

Also, it is fascinating that one article suggests the reason the police may want to clear the park is to make way for a parade to honor a recently deceased billionaire, Carl Lindner. You have to look this guy up. He is crazy 1% and crazy trouble. He was in charge of Chiquita (bananas) when the bad stuff went down, and he was a big donor to Bush 2004. It would be hysterical (appalling and shocking and typical) if the police kicked out the grassroots demonstrators to make way for a parade for this man.

(excerpt from) Cincinnati.com
City tells Occupy protesters to leave park
5:58 PM, Oct. 20, 2011

City officials told dozens of Occupy Cincinnati protesters on Thursday to remove their tents and clear the Downtown park they have occupied since last week.

Police have issued tickets to the protesters for days, but the warning indicates the city and police are taking a harder line with those occupying Piatt Park, near the Main Library.

When asked if police would arrest or forcibly remove protesters who remain in the park after it closes at 10 p.m. Thursday, City Solicitor John Curp did not rule it out…

The ratcheting up of pressure comes one day before a memorial parade honoring the late Carl Lindner Jr. is scheduled to pass by the park Friday morning. Lindner, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist, died Monday at 92…

(excerpt from) Washington Post
Carl Lindner Jr., Ohio financier and onetime owner of Cincinnati Reds, dies at 92

…After taking over Chiquita in 1984 and moving its headquarters to Cincinnati, Mr. Lindner opened new markets for the company’s bananas. He gave up his Chiquita stake when the company went through bankruptcy in 2002.

In 2007, Chiquita pleaded guilty to federal charges that it had paid the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a group designated a terrorist organization in 2001 by the State Department, more than $1.7 million in protection money in at least 100 installments from 1997 to 2004.

Only the company was charged, not any individual executives. Mr. Lindner was chairman when the payments started…

And, another quotation from the Post article:

…A major political donor, mostly to Republican causes and candidates, Mr. Lindner raised more than $200,000 for George W. Bush’s reelection in 2004, according to Common Cause, a Washington watchdog group…

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Mayor of Cincinnati’s Office contacts:

Office Manager
Akita.Jordan-Hein AT cincinnati-oh DOT gov

Director of Community Affairs
Shawn.Butler AT cincinnati-oh DOT gov

At the Live Stream, someone posted this as a police contact:

District One (Central, South) Capt. Douglas Wiesman 513 352-3505

Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, grassroots democracy, international politics, News, politics, progressive politics, social & economic justice, US Politics Tagged: | Charles Lindner, Charles Lindner Jr., Chiquita, Cincinnati events, Cincinnati politics, Cincinnati Reds, Columbia, Occupy Cincinnati, Republican Party, Republican Party donors, US Politics