Posted on 04/02/2012 9:56:28 PM PDT by SmithL
Police on Monday evicted and arrested nearly 80 Occupy activists who had taken over an empty San Francisco building the night before and had stockpiled bricks and supplies with the apparent intention of staying long-term.
Officers in riot gear stormed the two-story building at about 1:15 p.m. after tearing down a barricade protesters built to block the main entrance, said police spokesman Sgt. Michael Andraychak.
The building, which is owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, has been used as a music education facility by the archdiocese-associated nearby Sacred Heart Cathedral High School.
Occupy protester Beth Seligman said Monday morning that a few hundred people came into the building and stayed the night, but police said they believed that only about 80 people were inside Monday afternoon.
Activists said they chose to take over the building because they believed it has been vacant for five years and should be used as a center for health services and education instead of standing empty.
George Wesolek, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said the activists were wrong about the building's vacant status. The building was used for regular music classes until as recently as 18 months ago, Wesolek said. The archdiocese was also considering leasing out the building and using the revenue to help with financial aid for low-income Sacred Heart students, he said.
"This is definitely not a vacant building," Wesolek said. "It's not forgotten. It has a purpose."
Late Sunday night, the archdiocese signed a citizens' arrest for the occupiers on charges of trespassing and graffiti.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
It is tempting to wonder if the occupation would have occurred in the first place if the building had been owned by, say, Planned Parenthood instead of the Catholic Diocese of SF...
All evil needs to prevail is for good men to do nothing.....
What were the bricks for?
Evil, bad, icky conservatives planted them to discredit those loving, peaceful, nonviolent Occupiers.
Mortar?
You don’t have a stockpile of bricks in your living room?
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