Austin Occupied!

Occupy Austin participants met last weekend to plan their occupation of City Hall. (Photo by Katie Tomasino)

At press time Wednesday, a group of local citizens were planning a major City Hall rally – Occupy Austin – in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York on Sept. 17. In recent days, the ongoing protest has drawn national organizational support and spread across the country. Regional chapters have been organized by those who want to take part in the event. The Austin group has been meeting daily over the last week and releasing regular dispatches along the lines of "Austin's 99% Joins the 99% on Wall Street to Demand Change Now!"

According to participant Joshua Whisen­hunt, today, Thursday, Oct. 6, at 10am will mark the beginning of a "24/7 lawful occupation of City Hall." In addition to protesting U.S. economic and political conditions, he said: "There will be energy healers, yoga instructors, and classes for people. There are those who want to bring pamphlets, books, so people can have an open discussion about things they feel are important – for example, the type of food we eat, where we buy it, our dependency on oil. ... We're all trying to educate each other, lift each other up, and have fun doing it."

Earlier this week, nearly 4,000 had promised attendance on Occupy Austin's Facebook event page. In several meetings since the initial Sept. 29 general assembly at Ruta Maya, Whisenhunt said, the combined attendance has been more than 1,000 people.

The New York protests have been marked by allegations of police misconduct and hundreds of arrests, but both Occupy Austin members and the Austin Police Department do not anticipate trouble. "We are used to folks exercising their First Amendment right to free speech," Police Chief Art Acevedo told the Chronicle. "We will closely monitor to ensure no laws are being broken, but if they are broken, we will take action." Acevedo said potential offenses might include disrupting a meeting or blocking public access to streets and roadways. "We work well with protest groups," Acevedo said. "We don't anticipate any problems but will be prepared for any eventualities."

Though the fledgling movement has been criticized for not having a clear, concise message or goal, the participants disagree. "If there's one central message coming out of this," said participant Jonathan Cronin, "it's the desire to remove corporate influence and control over our political process. And apart from that, there's a broad array of opinions. ... It's just one day at a time, and it's a learning process."