Occupy Protesters To Challenge Oakland Stay Away Orders
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — ACLU attorneys on Thursday filed petitions for habeas corpus on behalf of the demonstrators, saying a court order prohibiting them from entering the public plaza in front of Oakland City Hall and the other sites where protests were held violates their First Amendment rights.
The orders were issued to at least 12 protesters after a protest in Oakland in January that ended after hundreds of protesters clashed with police, some broke into City Hall and hundreds of protesters were arrested.
Alameda County District Attorney spokeswoman Teresa Drenick says prosecutors sought the orders for protesters they say are violent.
The four protesters named in the petitions were arrested on charges ranging from vandalism to assaulting a police officer.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
