During the first week of the Orlando occupation, one of the most common sentiments expressed by its participants was that our city’s police officers, unlike those in other cities with active Occupy movements, were not only reasonable, but even “wonderful.” On the morning of Oct. 15, for instance, when the occupation was kicked...
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Beginning at 2:10 a.m. this morning, 19 activists affiliated with the Occupy Orlando movement were arrested for trespassing at Senator Beth Johnson Park. The arrests are the first in the week-long occupation, which had previously been regarded as somewhat anomalous among other Occupy movements for the amicable relationship it had forged with city police. According to...
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Occupy Orlando’s first march concluded shortly after 1 p.m. today, and at least a couple OW staffers were present to behold what was one of the largest demonstrations I’ve seen downtown in years. To my knowledge, participants are at this moment taking turns sharing the microphone at Senator Beth Johnson Park, where the march...
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Two more activists affiliated with the group Orlando Food Not Bombs (OFNB) were arrested yesterday at Lake Eola Park, bringing the toll of those arrested for holding unpermitted food sharings at the park to 27 since June 1. Though the arrests have occurred with an almost tedious regularity, yesterday marked an important shift in...
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Two more people affiliated with the group Orlando Food Not Bombs were arrested yesterday at Lake Eola Park for holding an unpermitted food sharing with over 25 people. Those arrested were Samantha Simpson and Eric Montanez, who are both 25 years old. The arrests were notable given that Montanez was the first and only...
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The group Orlando Food Not Bombs (OFNB) has petitioned the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court today for an injunction against the city of Orlando “from violating… administrative order and from omitting first amendment language from Orlando Police Department trespass warnings.” The administrative order in question, number 2003-39-17, states that arrests for second degree misdemeanors—like violating...
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Three people affiliated with the group Orlando Food Not Bombs were arrested yesterday at Lake Eola Park, two charged with violating the city’s Large Group Feeding ordinance, one charged with trespassing. Douglas Coleman, 27, and Allison Estes, 23, were booked into the Orange County Jail yesterday evening after serving free vegetarian food to more...
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In arresting activists for unpermitted food sharings at Lake Eola Park, Mayor Buddy Dyer, the Orlando Police Department, and city’s Parks Department may be in contempt of a court order, said Shayan Elahi, the new lawyer for the group Food Not Bombs, at a press conference this afternoon. Elahi contends that a Ninth Judicial...
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Six more activists affiliated with the group Food Not Bombs were arrested yesterday at Lake Eola Park for providing food more than 25 people (36, to be exact) without a Large Group Feeding permit from the city of Orlando. Some of those 36 people were members of the group themselves, as the feeding suffered...
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Yawn. Police arrested three more Food Not Bombs volunteers this morning at Lake Eola Park for violating the city’s recently reinstated Large Group Feeding ordinance. The arrests continued the routine of the last two weeks–the group intentionally defies the ordinance, the city makes arrests, and a new batch of volunteers is arrested the following...
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