San Diego Police gave Occupy San Diego protesters an ultimatum last night: remove your tents and personal belongings from the Civic Center concourse, or they’ll be confiscated, and you might be arrested.
While many demonstrators moved to different locations throughout the city, a cluster remained defiant and stayed in the concourse throughout the night.
As midnight came and passed, it became clear that police didn’t plan to act last night. This morning, they descended upon the Civic Center, arresting at least one man, and were working to get the final tents out of the concourse.
I shot photos of what the camp looked like before Thursday, last night’s march and the waiting game protesters played throughout the evening.
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| A view of the Civic Center occupation on Wednesday, before police ordered tents cleared out. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| A man and woman walk through the Civic Center concourse on Wednesday. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Protesters took to the streets without warning on Thursday night, stopping traffic and sending police scrambling to ensure safety. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Demonstrators reach the Gaslamp Quarter. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| As protesters marched the streets, they tried to rally support, chanting “Out of the bar and into the streets.” |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Some onlookers did jump into the fray, chanting along with protesters |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Others shouted from windows along the route of the march. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| A man who declined to give his real name marches past the Bank of America building. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Zach Farmer, 25, rallys the crowd back at the Civic Center |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Chad Deal, 26, films Avery Wear, 42, as he gives a speech to the protesters. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Demonstrators like Claudia Acevedo held on until the wee hours of the morning |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Police monitor the protesters from afar. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| A man who declined to give his name watches the protest from the fringe of the Civic Center concourse. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Protesters listened to people speak through a bullhorn. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Tensions flared at the concourse on occasion, as protesters disagreed about how to approach the police’s demands. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
| Many protesters eventually called it a night and tucked into their sleeping bags. |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
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| Photo by Sam Hodgson |
Clarification: The original homepage tag of this post said that police ordered protesters out of the Civic Center. They in fact only demanded that the protesters remove their tents. We regret the error.
I’m a photojournalist at voiceofsandiego.org. You can contact me directly at sam.hodgson@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5664.
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