Occupy Maine not in danger of New York-style police raid, Portland says

With a surprise clear-out of Zuccotti Park in New York City — where the Occupy Wall Street encampment was raided by city police at the order of Mayor Michael Bloomberg — early this morning, occupiers at offshoot settlements around the country held solidarity events today and wondered if their communities were next to be confronted by cops.

Occupy Oakland, which had become the site of alleged crimes, was forcefully evicted by police on Monday.

Portland city spokeswoman Nicole Clegg said no similar scene is due to play out in Maine’s largest city.

“They’ve been protesting peacefully, and when we’ve had concerns, they’ve been responsive,” Clegg said.

The city did request a plan from the demonstrators — who, like Occupy encampments around the nation are protesting corporate influence on government and consolidation of wealth, among other things — to ensure they have a strategy to stay safe while camping outside during Maine’s brutally cold winter season and take care of the grounds at the publicly owned Lincoln Park.

That plan is due to be turned in today, and Clegg said city codes and safety inspectors may perform a walk-through at the group’s tent city later in the week to make sure there are no overlooked hazards, but she said the city has no intention to force the demonstrators to move.

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.