Occupy Lexington Raided

No, it wasn't violent, but neither was it necessary. C'mon, Lexington - four solid months of peaceful co-existence and suddenly you go all hick sheriff on them? What, were Oakland cops calling you pussies?

Louisville Courant:

After 118 days of continued protest on the corner of Main St and Esplanade, Lexington, Kentucky police, under the supervision of Mayor Jim Gray, came by Tuesday between 12:30-1 PM and confiscated occupiers' tents and canopies.

The police brought more trailers than they needed. All in all, it only took 5-10 officers to confiscate the property. No arrests were made and they left no officers on the scene.

Protesters were allowed to save what personal items they could quickly grab and throw in the back of Ford Ranger belonging to a huge longtime supporter, the owner of Natasha's Bistro on Esplanade.

According to occupier Steven Burt, the police have been less than cordial over the course of the occupation.

"They've complained about our sidewalk chalk. They've said we were dirty and we looked disgusting," Burt said.

Occupy Lexington is located adjacent to a 14-story Chase JP Morgan bank, on the sidewalk. The rumor is that the raid was justified by Lexington police because the protest was on the sidewalk,but that leaves protesters puzzled since that had been the case for 118 days.

Passing motorists are honking and making eye contact just a few hours later, a show of solidarity that is lacking today from Mayor Gray.

"We're not going anywhere. We're needing solidarity from our supporters tonight though," says Stacie Catlett.

Click here for photos of the so-objectionable sidewalk chalkings.

UPDATE, 6 p.m.

Barefoot and Progressive:

The nation’s longest continuous occupation continued last night after police removed all the tents. Despite earlier reports that the corner of Main and Esplanade had been raided and the Occupation was over, the Occupiers met last night to chart a course for the future.

In fact, this sounded less like a raid and more like a misunderstanding leading to a cleansing. At the time, the camp was not unoccupied but the person on watch had crossed the street to get a coffee from Natasha’s. The police saw it empty and decided it was time to break it down, seeing it as abandoned (H-L).

But that’s all neither here nor there, really, since that part is done. The question quickly became “What Next?”

During a two-hour general assembly meeting last night, that question was discussed at length. The Occupiers were of different mindsets but as always, worked toward consensus. Their quick report:

- We will continue to occupy our location at Main and Esplanade. People have committed to be there for the next 24 hours, so feel free to come by and join them, or bring by some hot drinks!

- There was a great conversation tonight about the nature of our occupation and what our next steps should be. Energy is high and there were a lot of great ideas. If you haven’t been by in some time, please come out tomorrow at 6:30 for our General Assembly!

- Stay tuned to this page for more information as we have it. Again, tomorrow’s GA will be very important, so be sure to show up!

You can join them tonight at 6:30PM. Even if you’ve never been down before — there was one gentleman last night who was attending his first meeting.

What will happen next?

Watch the video.