Occupy Nashville

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Occupy Nashville Poster.jpg
Occupy Nashville
Part of the Occupy movement
DateOctober 7th, 2011 – 2012
Location
Caused by
GoalsEnd corporate personhood
Methods

Occupy Nashville was a collaboration that began with demonstrations and an occupation located at Legislative Plaza in Nashville, Tennessee. Special legislation attempting to oust the Occupy Nashville demonstration passed the Tennessee House of Representatives and Tennessee Senate in February 2012.

Contents

Until June 2012, Occupy Nashville had continued to engage in organized meetings, events and actions. [1]

Timeline

The following is a timeline of Occupy Nashville events and activity.

Arrests

On October 27 Governor Bill Haslam signed an executive order enacting a curfew at the state capitol. In the early morning hours of October 28, 29 protesters were arrested when they refused to comply with the order, [3] and on the following day, 26 were arrested. [4] In both cases, the arrests were thrown out by General Sessions Night Court Commissioner Tom Nelson, who argued the state had no authority to set a curfew for Legislative Plaza. [5] Haslam stated the curfew was necessary due to deteriorating sanitary conditions and safety issues on the Plaza, [4] [6] though critics have stated that the curfew is a violation of the protesters' civil rights. [7]

Journalist arrested

On October 29, 2011, a reporter covering Occupy Nashville for the Nashville Scene was arrested with demonstrators for violating the executive-ordered curfew despite identifying himself as a member of the press. [3] [8]

Lawsuit

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in federal court on October 31 to halt the arrests. [7] On November 17, U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger signed an injunction barring the state from enforcing the curfew on Legislative Plaza until the court could decide whether the curfew violates protesters' constitutional rights or not. A decision is not expected until February. [9]

See also

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References

  1. "Occupy Nashville: Calendar". Occupynashville.org. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  2. "Police clear Nashville plaza but make no Occupy arrest," USA Today, 12 March 2012. Retrieved: 29 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Occupy Nashville Prostestors Arrested and Released Archived 2011-10-31 at the Wayback Machine ," NewsChannel5.com, 29 October 2011. Retrieved: 29 October 2011.
  4. 1 2 Lucas Johnson II, "Tenn. Gov.: 'Occupy' Arrests Necessary for Safety," The Tennessean, 1 November 2011.
  5. Jim Ridley, "Night Court Magistrate Throws the Book at Haslam, Troopers Over Occupy Nashville Arrests," Nashvillescene.com, 29 October 2011. Retrieved: 29 October 2011.
  6. "TN Governor Bill Haslam Defends Actions; Occupy Nashville Situation had 'Deteriorated' Archived 2013-01-05 at archive.today ," WBIR.com, 29 October 2011. Retrieved: 29 October 2011.
  7. 1 2 Brandon Gee, "Lawsuit Seeks Halt to Occupy Nashville Arrests," The Tennessean, 31 October 2011. Retrieved: 31 October 2011.
  8. Meador, Jonathan (November 3, 2011). "A Scene reporter arrested by the state sees Nashville under occupation — but whose?". Nashville Scene.
  9. Haas, Brian (November 18, 2011). "Order gives Occupy Nashville protesters more time on plaza". The Tennessean. Retrieved November 20, 2011.

Additional sources