Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Orders Mass Arrest of Housing Justice Village Protesters

[Photo: A hopeful moment as the Housing Justice Village took shape in Oscar Grant Plaza]


Oakland police arrived en force shortly after 11:30pm on November 24, ready to make arrests. It was clearly planned out ahead of time. Within twenty minutes of corporate TV news camera crews wrapping up their live reports and leaving the scene, thereby meaning an assault by the city and mass arrests could take place without ending up on the television news broadcasts, convoys of police vehicles simultaneously rolled up on the 14th Street and San Pablo ends of Frank Ogawa plaza.

Police jumped out of their vehicles and ran up on foot from both directions to pull off something of a military pincer movement, surrounding the protest encampment in a matter of seconds. Once the kettle was set, police began barking orders and stepped forward to shrink their encirclement. Anyone who did not immediately respond was arrested. At least four people were handcuffed and removed right away, for doing nothing but standing there. Two were documenting police with their phones before they were arrested.

There is no way Oakland police came loaded for bear and jailed nearly two dozen protesters in all without Schaaf's express consent. Most likely the attack came under her direct orders. Imagine the phone calls between the mayor and her various minions that day. To be a fly on the wall. That the city began their assault at nearly midnight, with at least 75 uniformed police officers and a full DPW crew called to duty, presumably rousted from their homes late on a Sunday night, indicates that Schaaf meant business. That's a lot of overtime pay, and the overall costs for city's actions that night presumably were in the tens of thousands when all related expenses are factored in.

It was a power move by the mayor intended to to send a message: do not so openly challenge her homeless eviction regime, do not raise the profile of homeless solidarity and resistance in such a direct manner. The pretext used for arrests was being in a city park after 10pm, which is almost no one is ever cited for, much less sent to jail. It was really all about the tents on Schaaf's front lawn, and any excuse would suffice to smash the protest.

The day started with great promise, however. Just before 11am, what was to be known as the Housing Justice Village began to take shape in Oscar Grant Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall. Housed and unhoused activists set up a number of shelter tents on the lawn towards the intersection of 14th Street and Broadway.

The action was intended to close out the East Bay Housing Justice Week of Action, while opening a second, street-level front after Moms 4 Housing reclaimed a vacant investor-owned house in West Oakland earlier in the week.

Once word was online about the protest in the plaza, donated food and supplies began to roll in. An informational canopy tent was set up on the pavement, followed by a food tent. Word began to spread on the street, too, and an increasing number of unhoused folks from the area came through to check out what was happening. Food donations continued to arrive throughout the day, and disappeared as fast as they came in.

Coincidentally, it was also the the same day Occupy Oakland offers free food in the plaza every month. Occupy volunteers set up a table closer to City Hall on 14th Street and, in the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, provided a hot meal with traditional fixings such as cranberry.

Not only were folks eagerly eating what was offered, but many wrapped up second and third meals to take with them. Folks are hungry out there and the city of Oakland is not feeding them.

The Homeless Action Center set up an outreach table and indicated they intended to maintain a presence for days. HAC does a great work connecting folks with available public resources, walking people through the often onerous red tape.

An interfaith discussion on homelessness was held in the late afternoon, then a sound system arrived and it was open mic. Speakers laid down hard truths about life on the streets today in Oakland, the history of greed and racist repression in America, and the need to resist, to push through current insufferable conditions. Plans were for outdoor screenings in the plaza in the coming evenings.

In the end, more people were arrested and sent to jail for a minor citable offense than there were tents in the plaza. Some only received tickets for being in the park after dark. Others were also charged with resisting arrest. Bails were set at $5000 a head. It took the better part of two days for folks to raise bail and coordinate the release of all 22 arrestees.

This level of force reveals how serious Schaaf takes a mere 16 tents going up right in front of City Hall. She knew the growing threat such a presence would present over time and determined to smash it on the first night, no matter the cost.


Oakland unhoused neighbors create Housing Justive Village at City Hall (report from morning)
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/11/24/18828389.php

Cat Brooks' statement after police raid
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2019/11/25/18828416.php