Occupy Boise members weigh options as eviction looms…
With Gov. Butch Otter’s signing of the HB 404a today, banning camping on certain state lands, state Department of Administration Director Teresa Luna says she’s sent notice to participants in the Occupy Boise encampment that they must be off the vigil site across from the Capitol by 5 p.m. on Monday. “The Department of Administration has kept the encampment members regularly informed through every step of the legislative process, as the bill made its way through the legislature and to the Governor’s desk, including verbal updates with frequent visits to the encampment, and written updates in the form of printed status notices,” Luna said in a statement. “Because of this ongoing communication, we trust that by Monday’s deadline Occupy Boise will choose voluntary compliance with the new law, and will leave the Capitol Annex property in the condition in which they found it.”
Meanwhile, some Occupy members told the Associated Press today that they’re still weighing their options, and expect their protest to continue even if they move elsewhere; click below for a full report from AP reporter Alex Morrell. Also, Occupy Boise said in a news release that a legal challenge is being pursued and a hearing on a possible restraining order has been scheduled for Friday.
Gov. Otter signs bill ousting Occupy Boise
By ALEX MORRELL, Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter has signed legislation aimed at evicting Occupy Boise protesters who have been camped out on state land near the Capitol for the last four months.
Otter signed the emergency legislation Tuesday that gives the protesters until 5 p.m. Monday to pack up their encampment and leave the grounds surrounding the old Ada County Courthouse.
The local offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has railed against income inequality as well as corporate and political corruption, set up their tents in November. State lawmakers have been working to disperse them since arriving in Boise in January.
The state Department of Administration, which is responsible for the property, delivered the eviction notice to protesters Tuesday afternoon.
The state hopes the advanced warning and other measures will help avert the kind of confrontation that has plagued other Occupy encampments across the county.
“We’re hopeful that they are as respectful of the process as we have been to them,” said Jon Hanian, spokesman for the governor. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
For protesters, news that the days of living in tents and makeshift shelters in downtown Boise are numbered provoked gloom and irritation.
“I’m pretty aggravated with the state. I think it’s wrong they passed the bill,” said Chris Sullivan, a 27-year-old Boise resident.
Sullivan and other members were still weighing options, considering whether to take a stand and risk going to jail. Several said that the protests would continue in a new location.
“Just because we’re being asked to leave this spot, the fight’s not over,” Sullivan said.
Albert Garcia, who has camped at the site since December, said he intends to leave the grounds peacefully. But he doesn’t believe leaving the state grounds means an end to the protest movement in Boise.
“If we don’t continue, then what was this for?” Garcia said.
Teresa Luna, spokeswoman for the Department of Administration, said she hopes the state’s efforts to reach out and communicate with protesters in advance will lead to a clean and seamless breakdown of the encampment.
The bill signed by Otter ensures that property left at the camp will be stored by the state for 90 days.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Eye On Boise." Read all stories from this blog