Occupy DC protesters gathered at a Northeast D.C. woman’s house Monday, preparing to block U.S. Marshals from enforcing a foreclosure order.
But a court granted the woman, Dawn Butler, a last-minute eviction stay, protesters said. She’ll be allowed to stay in her home until at least April 19.
About 45 protesters went to the house Butler is renting early Monday, said Occupier Rooj Alwazir, and Butler was granted a stay of eviction by D.C.’s Landlord and Tenant Court a short time later.
Though both U.S. Marshals and D.C. police were on scene as Occupiers blocked the steps of Butler’s house, there were no arrests, Alwazir said.
The protest outside Butler’s house marks the second large-scale demonstration for Occupy Our Homes D.C., an Occupy working group that specifically fights foreclosures in the District.
Though the movement remains based in Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square, members have focused on more specific initiatives since protesters were banned from sleeping in those parks in February. Occupy Our Homes has been one of the most visible and successful of those initiatives. In late February, they partnered with Bowie, Md. homeowner Bertina Jones in a successful bid to save her home from foreclosure.
“It just shows the power of the people and how when communities unite, they’re not alone,” Alwazir said. “We don’t need any more abandoned homes in the District.”
