Occupy Chattanooga

OCCUPY CHATTANOOGA CALLS FOR FEDERAL INVESTIGATION INTO SHERIFF’S EVICTION PROCESS

General Assembly votes to end sidewalk demonstration, move to direct action protests

(CHATTANOOGA, TENN.) Occupy Chattanooga is joining with Occupy movements across the country in calling for a federal investigation into police actions against the protests, most specifically the actions of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department on Monday, March 19, 2012, the 139th day of the occupation of the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn.

Brutal and unfair police tactics have been used to quash the movement across the U.S. and world since the Occupy movement, a protest against corporate greed and the ills it brings to our society, began in September 2011.

On the day before Occupy Chattanooga’s illegal eviction from the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn, InterOccupy, which provides channels of communication between local Occupy movements, asked local Occupy movements to consider calling for a federal investigation of policing of the movement. A day earlier 100 protestors has been arrested in New York, four in Los Angeles and 14 in St. Louis.

Occupy Chattanooga’s General Assembly did vote on the day before its eviction to join other movements in calling for the federal investigation while stipulating that locally police had been professional and respectful of the movement, even with the sheriff going so far as to say they were not present to violate First Amendment rights. Occupy Chattanooga had even been given a promise from Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond that the protestors would be given notice before any eviction from the protest camp.

All of that changed on the afternoon of Monday, March 19, 2012, when Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies surrounded the Occupy Chattanooga protest camp, forced protestors off the lawn, searched the property of protestors and then moved the protestors’ camp to the Georgia Avenue sidewalk.

Protestors were given no warning. Questions about under what law and under whose authority the eviction was taking place were directed to the Hamilton County Commission. Requests for warrants or other documentation allowing the police action were ignored and Occupy Chattanooga has yet, a week after the eviction, to be provided with any legal justification for the surprise attack on its camp, the violation of its right to use public property, to free speech, to peacefully assemble and to petition its government for a redress of grievance.

Two occupiers, Beth Foster and Brooke Washburn went to the Hamilton County Commission Wednesday morning and addressed the commissioners, asking those questions the sheriff’s department had referred to the commission: Under whose authority, under what law and for legal documentation of the eviction. Their questions were ignored and the commissioners did not provide any response whatsoever.

Since the eviction, occupiers have maintained a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week protest on the Georgia Avenue sidewalk beside the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn, which is now enclosed in an orange net fence and patrolled by deputies. The protestors’ General Assembly voted on Sunday to end the 24-hour-a-day occupation on its 145th day. Occupy Chattanooga Phase II begins now and will include taking the protest directly to the faces of corporate America in our city.

Occupiers plan at least weekly direct actions and setting up tables on the Georgia Avenue sidewalk at least a couple days a week to continue to educate the community about corporate greed, its purchase of government at every level, and the cruelty and hardship it inflicts on Americans, our families, the creatures with which we share this earth, and our environment.

# # #


Occupy Chattanooga is a leaderless movement, currently encamped on he Hamilton County Courthouse lawn, that seeks economic justice — particularly by seeing the end of corporate power in American politics and government at all levels. Occupy Chattanooga stands in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements around the world. For more information about Occupy Chattanooga, email OccupyCHA@gmail.com, call 423-521-2421, follow on Twitter @OccupyCha, visit the website OccupyCha.org, or find Occupy Chattanooga on Facebook at facebook.com/OccupyCHA. 


OCCUPY CHATTANOOGA CONDEMNS COUNTY’S EVICTION OF PROTEST CAMP

County should have let courts decide outcome

(CHATTANOOGA, TENN.) Occupy Chattanooga, which had been camped on the public lawns of the Hamilton County Courthouse since Nov. 1, 2011, was evicted Monday.

Occupiers were not given any warning. Protestors exited their tents to find a Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy standing in front of each tent. There were about 15 officers present to remove the camp. The occupiers were ordered away from the tents, not allowed to gather or touch any of their property. Deputies removed the tents, pallets, personal items and other property of the camp and placed it on the city-owned sidewalk in front of the courthouse.

The tents were searched before deputies removed them, despite occupiers repeatedly telling deputies they did not consent to a search of their property.

Occupiers questioned Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond who referred all questions to Hamilton County Commissioner Larry Henry, stating that it was he who had ordered the eviction. Hammond could not cite the law under which the eviction was taking place or produce any paperwork ordering the eviction.

Occupiers contend that some property was damaged and lost during the eviction process. At least one lock on a tent was cut, some tent poles were snapped and two Sony radios are missing.

Following the eviction, deputies and public works employees placed an orange plastic fence around the Occupy Chattanooga site and deputies remain on patrol around the courthouse to keep occupiers from re-entering the area.

Shortly after the eviction, Occupy Chattanooga learned that the county had the same afternoon filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit it had filed against the protestors, seeking the court’s approval to remove the camp.

Occupy Chattanooga condemns the county’s actions and believes the county acted as it did because it knew it could not win the lawsuit on constitutional grounds. Occupy Chattanooga is consulting with its attorney, David Veazey and Public Citizen of Washington D.C. to determine what its next legal action will be.

A General Assembly was held at 5:30 Monday afternoon on the Hamilton County Courthouse steps. The General Assembly decided to remain in a 24-hour vigil on the Hamilton County Courthouse property. The next General Assembly will be tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.

# # #


Occupy Chattanooga is a leaderless movement, currently encamped on the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn, that seeks economic justice — particularly by seeing the end of corporate power in American politics and government at all levels. Occupy Chattanooga stands in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements around the world. For more information about Occupy Chattanooga, email OccupyCHA@gmail.com, call 423-521-2421, follow on Twitter @OccupyCha, visit the website OccupyCha.org, or find Occupy Chattanooga on Facebook at facebook.com/OccupyCHA. 


OCCUPY CHATTANOOGA CELEBRATES DAY 99 WITH LAUNCH OF ‘ELECTIONS NOT AUCTIONS’ PETITION

The 99 percent call on state legislatures to get the money out of politics 

(CHATTANOOGA, TENN.) We’ve chanted. We’ve held signs. We’ve marched. We’ve occupied. Still the 1 percent refuses to hear our voices. Now — on Day 99 of Occupy Chattanooga’s encampment on the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn — we call on the 99 percent to help us force our elected officials to hear our voices.

At midnight on Feb. 8, Day 99 of the Occupation, Occupy Chattanooga launched a petition calling on the Tennessee General Assembly to pass legislation that changes the way we choose public officials in Tennessee. The change we want: Elections instead of auctions for our country, state, county and city’s elected offices.

The petition calls for legislation: (1) To limit campaign donations to individual U.S. citizens. This means living, breathing human beings. This eliminates donations from corporations, political action committees and other special interest groups. (2) To limit donations to $100 per individual U.S. citizen, per candidate, per campaign.

Occupy Chattanooga has set a goal of having 100,000 Tennessee residents sign this petition.

The other goal of the “Election Not Auctions” campaign is to have Occupy movements in all 50 states launch similar initiatives aimed at getting their legislatures to act.

“If all 50 state legislatures hear from 100,000 of their constituents demanding change, they will be forced to hear us,” occupier Beth Foster said.

Occupier Theresa Ivey said that a petition may not seem that exciting, but recent petitions — such as the one demanding that Bank of America not add on a debit card fee — show that when the people speak in mass, change can result.

“When we are successful in this initiative, when we have campaign donations limited to individuals and the amount of a donation limited so that no one person or no one special interest group, can buy an election, we have made a step toward accomplishing the goals of the occupy movement, of the 99 percent and of saving our country,” Ivey said.

The petition can be signed online at www.change.org/petitions/take-corporate-special-interest-money-out-of-politics-in-tennessee#. There will also be a link available on the Occupy Chattanooga Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OccupyCHA. For those who do not have online access, hard copies of the petition may be signed at the Occupy site on the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn, 625 Georgia Ave., Chattanooga, TN.

# # #

Occupy Chattanooga is a leaderless movement, currently encamped on the Hamilton County Courthouse lawn, that seeks economic justice — particularly by seeing the end of corporate power in American politics and government at all levels. Occupy Chattanooga stands in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements around the world. For more information about Occupy Chattanooga, email OccupyCHA@gmail.com, call 423-521-2421, follow on Twitter @OccupyCha, visit the website OccupyCha.org, or find Occupy Chattanooga on Facebook at facebook.com/OccupyCHA.

Interview With Occupy Chattanooga Attorneys

http://ianmasters.com/content/january-30-stealth-way-shut-down-occupy-movement-gingrich-new-goldwater-saul-alinskys-proteg

Interview with attorneys for Occupy Chattanooga, Scott Michelman who is a staff attorney with Public Citizen in Washington D.C. and Chattanooga attorney David Veazey, who discuss this first-of-a-kind suit that tries to force individuals to pay a County’s costs for seeking judicial validation of its own law.

Occupy Chattanooga Livestream

Check out our livestream here http://www.livestream.com/occupychattanooga throughout the day! It’s day 76 of our occupation, and WE ARE STILL HERE! We are the 99%

Occupy Chattanooga Corrects Counterfeit Press Release

Occupy Chattanooga has learned that a counterfeit press release was issued to all media outlets today. The press release stated we plan to leave our occupation on Monday. That press release is FALSE, and did NOT come from Occupy Chattanooga. One media outlet has already had to print a correction.
 
Occupy Chattanooga has made no decision other than to continue our occupation in pursuit of economic justice for the 99%. The only official source for Occupy Chattanooga press releases are OccupyCha@gmail.com and OccupyChaMedia@gmail.com . Press releases issued from these addresses are official and sanctioned by our General Assembly which is the governing body of Occupy Chattanooga. We are the 99%!

Hamilton County Commission Files Petition For Judgement Against Occupy Chattanooga

The Hamilton County Commission filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in federal court yesterday. They are asking the court to declare that their permitting scheme would withstand a constitutional challenge. Occupy Chattanooga’s attorney will be working on a motion to dismiss in the coming days. Stay strong! We are the 99%!

Occupy Chattanooga Code of Conduct

Inclusion:  All are welcome to participate in the Occupation. The only requirements for membership are the desire to help improve our society for the benefit of the 99%, that members demonstrate a consistent level of participation, and that members follow the rules agreed upon as set forth in this document. We do not discriminate based on politics, ethnicity, age, religion, sexuality, or financial solvency. We are all the 99%.

·         Respect everyone, their individuality, and their opinions, different though they may be from your own.

·         Violence, verbal or physical, will not be tolerated.

·         Making racist, sexist, sarcastic, or prejudiced remarks to fellow protestors or passersby will not be tolerated.

Civic Responsibility: We value civil society. All community members should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to other participants. This includes, as much as possible, following local, state and federal laws.

·         We will obey the law unless it is necessary to advance our cause and has been previously approved by the General Assembly. We respect the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department and the Chattanooga Police Department and are grateful for their service, support and restraint. We will not antagonize officers of the HCSD or CPD; nor will we escalate any conflicts which might arise during acts of civil disobedience.

·         No illicit drugs, alcohol or weapons (including knives with 2-sided blades or blades longer than 3 inches) will be allowed on the property. Public intoxication will not be tolerated. As there is no expectation of privacy on public ground; we will observe an open door policy. This means that any activity that cannot occur out in the open is prohibited inside tents including sexual activity even among consenting adults.

·         Comply with Comfort group before taking or using supplies or equipment. While many of the supplies are open for use by anyone who is part of the Occupation, much of it is personal and not for public use.

·         Smoking is permitted in the designated smoking area. In the event that non-occupiers need this designated area; smokers will move farther away as a courtesy and also farther away from the encampment. Under special circumstances, smoking may be permitted by the fire due to the need for warmth; however, no one may smoke around others who object.

Participation: We are here to support one another in being the change we wish to see in the world. There is much work to be done and everyone brings different skills to bear.

·         You must participate as an Occupier in order to stay at the encampment. We are not camping out; we are protesting with our physical presence. Pitch in wherever you can; where your skills and abilities are appropriate; even if it’s just helping to move tables or tents.

·         If you have nothing else to do, or if you are just having a conversation with someone; do it at the street with a protest sign!

Leave No Trace: Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. WE clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in better condition than we found them.

·         Pick up all garbage. It doesn’t matter if it’s not yours; pick it up anyway. Put it where it belongs. Even better, don’t let it hit the ground in the first place. Remind other people courteously if they forget.

·         Avoid damaging local vegetation. Do not trample the landscaping and do not leave anything on a particular patch of gras long enough to kill it. This is why we rotate the tents. Be helpful with this process!

Self-Reliance: As an Occupier, you are expected to be responsible for your own health and behavior.

·         Provide for yourself as much as possible. Do not expect the Occupation to provide for all of your needs. If you cannot provide something for yourself and are in need of it, speak up. If no one knows you need help, we cannot help you!

Occupy Chattanooga Responds to Hamilton County Commission Resolution

Chattanooga, TN, 4 January 2012 – In its regular weekly meeting, The Hamilton County Commission passed Resolution 112-13, establishing rules and regulations for use of Hamilton County-owned grounds and facilities by the general public. The resolution sets in place an application process and establishes rules for the use of County-owned property and facilities.

The resolution was not on the meeting agenda, nor was it announced in advance of the meeting. As articulated in the Tennessee Open Meetings Act, it is the policy of the State of Tennessee “that the formation of public policy and decisions is public business and shall not be conducted in secret.” The Commission’s continued use of secrecy to bring resolutions against Occupy Chattanooga violates the spirit, and possibly the letter, of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act and is yet another example of the corruption against which Occupy Chattanooga protests.

The specifics of the resolution make clear that it is intended to target the activities of Occupy Chattanooga, currently established on the lawn of the County Courthouse. The resolution purports to be applicable immediately. However, no emergency exists requiring the promulgation of new rules. It is the position of Occupy Chattanooga that this “new use” policy unconstitutionally limits access by the public to a forum universally accepted to be an area protected for the speech of the governed, and that it constitutes an impermissible prior restraint on Occupy Chattanooga’s free speech rights.

County officials have stated that they disagree with the mission and message of the Occupy Movement, as is their right. However, they do not act within their rights when they bring the force of their public authority against Constitutionally protected free speech, based solely on their personal opinions and in defiance of law. Occupy Chattanooga will continue working to bring the public’s attention to activities such as those undertaken by the Hamilton County Commission. We insist on transparency in government and demand that our elected officials uphold the Constitution rather than subverting it. We fight on behalf not only of the Occupy Movement but of all Americans. We are the 99%.

Hamilton County Commission Surprise Vote Calls For Legal Action Against Occupy Chattanooga

HAMILTON COUNTY COMMISSION VIOLATES SUNSHINE LAW, VOTES TO WASTE TAX DOLLARS IN ATTEMPT TO PREVENT LEGAL PROTESTS AND SUPPRESS RIGHTS OF FREE SPEECH

Chattanooga, TN December 21, 2011 – The Hamilton County Commission
passed resolution 1211-36 by a vote of 8-1 on Wednesday. The
resolution expresses “disapproval of” and calls for legal action
against the peaceful, law-abiding protesters of Occupy Chattanooga.
According to news reports, the resolution was not on the agenda, but
was passed around by County Attorney Rheubin Taylor during the
meeting. It was introduced as an “emergency” resolution, which allowed
it to be added to the agenda without notice. However, in a local
interview after the meeting, Chairman Henry said the resolution is
something the Commission has been “working on for several weeks.”
Occupy Chattanooga believes the public should be informed that their
County Commission has again violated Tennessee’s Sunshine Law.

The resolution gives Chairman Henry authority to pursue a legal case
against occupiers; however he was quoted in a November 16 news report
as saying “Occupy Chattanooga has not broken any laws so there is no
reason for the Board to do anything that would stop the group from
continuing with their message and camp.” Occupy Chattanooga wants to
inform the public that this County Commission action is a waste of tax
dollars to pursue a court case against citizens who, by the Chairman’s
own words, are doing nothing illegal. Occupy Chattanooga believes the
real reason for this challenge is that our protests have targeted
corruption in all levels of government and spoken out against our
County Commission’s willingness to ignore state laws that require
transparency. Our County Commission is standing against free speech
and transparency in government. We stand in favor of both. We are the
99%.

OCCUPY CHATTANOOGA CALLS ON HAMILTON COUNTY COMMISSION TO END CONTRACT WITH PRIVATE PRISON CORPORATION

County pays Correction Corporations of America $13 million per year

(CHATTANOOGA, TENN.) On Thursday morning, Dec. 1, Occupy Chattanooga called on the Hamilton County Commission to end its contract with Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the private company which it pays to operate Silverdale Detention Facilities on Standifer Gap Road.

A group of Occupiers attended the commissioners’ meeting in the Hamilton County Courthouse to call on the county to stop the contract with CCA that is set to automatically renew on Oct. 15, 2012.

While it is sometimes argued that privatizing prisons is less expensive for governments than operating their own incarceration facilities, this is a short-sighted and inhumane approach to saving money, according to Occupy Chattanooga. In the end, the privatizing of prisons costs society much more than it would cost the local government to handle incarcerations.

“This is because for-profit prisons profit from policies that fill their prisons,” Occupier Landon Howard said. “Hence, in order to secure their profits they lobby our state and federal government for harsher sentences as well as fostering an environment of corruption of the judicial system with no incentives for long-term rehabilitation.”

From 2003 to 2011, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, CCA hired 199 lobbyist in 32 states. On the federal level, according to the report, CCA spent more than $18 million on lobbying between 1999 and 2009.

Private prison companies essentially admit that their business model depends on high rates of incarceration. For example, in a 2010 annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CCA stated: “The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by … leniency in conviction or parole standards and sentencing practices …”

With just 5 percent of the world’s population, the U.S. currently has 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. The number of people incarcerated in America has only grown as private corporations profit by operating prisons. According to a report issued by the America Civil Liberties Union, the number of people imprisoned in American has increased by 700 percent since 1970.

“The essence of the issue is that we are locking up human beings, including children, for petty crimes, in many instances destroying any potential they had of being rehabilitated and becoming contributing citizens,” Occupier Beth Foster said. “The American taxpayers fund this warped cycle so corporations can make exorbitant profits at the expense of both the prisoner and the taxpayer. If a human being must be incarcerated because he or she presents a threat to other people, this is a duty of society at large and not a for-profit enterprise.”

Hamilton County was the first county in the U.S. to contract its prisons out to a for-profit company. Hamilton County will pay CCA $13,165,148 in 2011-12, according to the county’s budget. As the largest private prison company in the United States CCA’s operation of Silverdale Detention Facilities is just one of its 65 facilities that have the capacity to hold 80,000 inmates. Silverdale is a multi-security prison that holds both men and women, and can house 1,062 inmates, according to CCA’s website.

In the United States, private companies operate 264 jails and prisons that incarcerate more than 100,000 people. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, privately owned corporations operate more than 50 percent of youth correction facilities in the U.S.

Occupy Chattanooga wants the operation of Silverdale returned to the county. Such a change might create jobs in the community as the private prison industry tends to hire fewer guards per inmate than do government-operated incarceration facilities.

Howard said Occupy Chattanooga “stands in solidarity with all individuals and families who are suffering as a result of this evil industry.”