NASHVILLE, Tenn.- The heavy Tennessee Highway Patrol presence and curfew enforcement on Legislative Plaza came to a sudden and unexpected stop Saturday night, and by Sunday morning, Occupy Nashville protesters declared it a victory on The Hill.
"At 4:30 in the morning, I walked around congratulating everybody that we took The Hill, said Clay Wright who proudly waved his Occupy Nashville flag on the steps of Legislative Plaza.
"The people, the people own Legislative Plaza, and that's the way it needs to be recognized," said Wright.
But a sign with a curfew enforcement states otherwise. Enforced since Thursday, it's put more than 50 Occupy protesters in handcuffs. Instead of taking the wind out of their sails, it's only unified the group more, even spawning new supporters like Randy Johnson and his daughter, Delaney.
"I just felt like I needed to do something to show my support for the people getting dragged off and arrested," said Johnson. This isn't about the people here at the plaza this is about all of us," he added.
But the handcuffs and heavy Highway Patrol presence virtually disappeared Saturday night, and some wonder if it's gone for good because the Metro magistrate judge, Tom Nelson, couldn't find a legal reason to charge those arrested and refused to charge them.
Or they wonder if the Haslam administration is threatened by a new face taking the 'human mic,' the attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union.
These protesters are now clients of Attorney Tripp Hunt and the ACLU.
"They want to stay on the mall. They think it's the right of the public to stay there, to protest to express their feelings to the state of Tennessee," said Hunt.
A lawsuit will fight for their right to stay, and hopefully reverse the new restrictions by Monday. When NewsChannel 5 asked THP why they suddenly stopped their initiative with the protesters, a spokesperson said quote: "We urge them to adhere to the conditions of the policy. For security reasons, we cannot comment specifically on the THP's enforcement efforts, but the goal remains the same, and that is to provide for the safety and security of everyone on the plaza."
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
