Mayor Vincent Gray is calling for their eviction. Rep. Darrell Issa is holding a congressional hearing on their camp. But Occupy DC protesters say their movement is growing, energized by thousands of
demonstratorswho filled the streets Tuesday at the Occupy Congress protest.
About 2,000 protesters arrived in town for Occupy Congress—and Occupiers expect many to stay in the District as they gear up for another major protest on Friday dubbed Occupy the Courts. Some — especially from Occupy camps that have already been shut down, like Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Boston — will likely stay even longer.
There’s no telling exactly how many protesters will remain in D.C., but protesters said they’ve seen more new faces in camp than they expected. That influx of protesters — plus longtime D.C. Occupiers returning to camp after the holidays — has contributed to “substantial” growth in the McPherson camp, one protester said.
There are already about 150 Occupiers residing there.
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The Occupy camps at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza are already attractive to Occupiers simply because they’re some of the last major camps standing, and D.C.protesters have said for weeks that they’ve seen new members arriving from across the country as camps in city after city have been shut down because of crime increases and health concerns.
But McPherson still faces its own challenges. Gray issued a letter to the National Park Service last week calling for the Park Service to clear out the square and move the Occupiers living there to Freedom Plaza. He said concerns of hypothermia, improper food disposal, and a rat infestation had created a “dangerous” situation in the camp.
For his part, Issa, R.-Calif., started a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform investigation into why McPherson Occupiers had been allowed to stay in the park without a permit, despite the park’s camping ban. He’s holding a hearing on the matter next Tuesday because, his office says, the Department of the Interior still hasn’t turned over Occupy-related documents he requested more than a month ago.
Still, Occupiers say they feel energized by Tuesday’s protest and have no plans to leave the park. And visitors from other Occupy movements tend to agree.
“I fell in love with the people here,” said a protester who said his name was Envy. He traveled from Occupy Wall Street for the Occupy Congress protest and plans on staying through the spring. “In New York there’s no occupation anymore — it’s not as good as it is here.”
