Police Deploy Tear Gas on Occupy Oakland Protestors

Late last night, several scuffles broke out between police and protesters camped out near City Hall in Oakland, California. This followed an early-morning raid by police, disbanding a camp that had been set up for more than two weeks, and resulting in 97 arrests.

The first evening scuffle broke out after several hundred people made their way back to City Hall in an attempt to re-establish a presence in the area of the disbanded camp.

The protesters had gathered at a downtown library, marched toward City Hall and ultimately were met by police officers in riot gear. Several small skirmishes broke out and officers cleared the area by firing tear gas.

The scene has repeated itself several times since. But each time officers move to disperse the crowd, protesters quickly gather again in assemblies that authorities have declared illegal.

Protesters and police offered up different versions of the story; police cited violence in the crowd directed at police, while organizers simply reminded the officers of the goal of the movement- "people trying to have their rights to basic services." Let's hope this sort of police involvement doesn't become a trend at these widespread, largely peaceful demonstrations nationwide.

#OccupySeattle will be marching in support of Occupy Oakland - check out Ian Awesome's twitter #OneAngryQueer for more updates.