Occupy Jacksonville Still In Place Despite Efforts to Remove Them

The Occupy Wall Street movement has arrived in Jacksonville and has no plans of leaving, much to the dismay of several Jacksonville City Council members. Six weeks after beginning their protest in front of City Hall, Deputy General Counsel Howard M. Maltz sent Occupy Jacksonville a letter stating they were not allowed to have signs or store items in front of City Hall. The city issued an order Jan. 17 to shut down the electrical outlets surrounding the protest, including those in nearby Hemming Plaza that were not in use by protesters.

Members of the Occupy movement believe Councilman Don Redman is the main voice behind the city's actions. Redman, who caused an uproar when he asked Islamic Human Rights Commission nominee Parvez Ahmed to "Say a prayer to your God" during his confirmation hearing in May 2010, represents the district in which the Occupy protest is taking place. According to Occupy protesters, he has been trying to get Occupy Jacksonville shut down since its inception.

"To his credit, he's the only councilman that comes down here to talk to us, but he's usually very condescending," said Occupy protestor Kristian Gore. "He doesn't believe we should be here without paying for a permit. Basically, his view of the First Amendment is that it's fine to have, as long as you're paying for it."

Councilman Redman has been seen sparring with protestors over the legality of their protest, visiting the protest area to scout for city ordinance violations. He has complained over their use of public power outlets, stating they were stealing power from the city meant for powering Christmas lights, and has been seen talking with police over what can be done about the protestors. One member of the movement even claims he saw Redman shut down a circuit breaker that fed electricity to Occupy's livestream, a charge that Redman denies. He doesn't hide the fact that he wants them gone, though.

"I'm honest with them," he said. "I don't think that they're accomplishing anything. I can't come up with any real issue they are standing for. I can't come up with any other reason that they're there, other than the fact that they can be there."

In the letter to Occupy Jacksonville, City Council charged protesters with a storage violation under Section 614.138 of the city ordinance. The section is titled Certain Activities Prohibited; Definitions, and it mostly focuses on camping and panhandling violations. It prohibits activities such as sleeping, setting up tents, lodging and cooking on city property. It doesn't prohibit the storage of items on city property as Counsel Maltz said in the letter.

"There haven't been tents, there hasn't been any sleeping, lying or lodging, there hasn't been cooking - nobody's camping," explained Wendell Finner, an attorney representing Occupy Jacksonville. "What's really going on there is the city doesn't want a 24 hour demonstration in front of city hall. I think that's one of the drawbacks that come with being elected to or working for government. When the citizens come to express their grievances, you have to put up with that."

Occupy Jacksonville has filed a lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville, challenging chapter 656 of the city ordinance. Occupy claims the ordinance violates their First Amendment rights by limiting their freedom of expression, but they hope to settle out of court. As of right now, Occupy Jacksonville has had the electricity restored to their live stream, though the city has given them no explanation as to why it was cut off in the first place. They also have their signs back, and the office of the General Counsel told Occupy Jacksonville they can keep their signs while mediation is under way, and if anyone tells them otherwise, to call the General Counsel immediately. Despite opposition, protesters intend to carry on with round-the-clock demonstration. Occupy Jacksonville's next event is going to be a protest at UNF during the GOP presidential debate Jan. 26.