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Occupy-New Hampshire Movement

Decent Essays
The Occupy New Hampshire movement stemmed from Occupy Wall Street, which began in September 2011. Tr.:16. The occupy movement generally consisted of staying in one place until the grievances of the participants are addressed. Tr.:33. Occupy Wall Street sought to address problems such as economic disparity, the growing gap between the classes, and the influence of money on politics. Tr.:13. Every Occupy movement focused on different issues and grievances, usually determined at the first general assembly. Tr.:111.
Occupy New Hampshire began as a Facebook group, and after the page garnered significant attention, organizers arranged the first meeting for October 4. Tr.:18, 183. Over a dozen people attended the first meeting and they decided to
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Tr.:39. Approximately 80 to 90 individuals attended the first GA and they seemed enthusiastic about the Occupy New Hampshire movement. Tr.:49, 51. At the first general assembly, the occupiers used hand signals and a system called “human mic.” Tr.:17. Instead of using an electronic amplification system, individuals repeated the words of the speaker, creating an echo and effectively becoming a “human mic.” Tr.:14, 16.
After the first GA, the movement was hoping to build momentum through a second GA the following week in Concord before its first occupation. Tr.:51. The occupiers intended to start an occupation on October 15 and, in the strongest sense of “occupy,” stay until their grievances were addressed. Tr.:33, 55. However, Occupy New Hampshire was unable to come to a consensus of their specific grievances before the police enforcement of the ordinance dispersed the occupation.
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Tr.:29. One police officer used a hand sign to signal he wished to speak. Tr.:29. He told the group that the police department ordered the officers to remove the occupiers from the park for violating the ordinance. Tr.:29. The officer continued, letting the occupiers know that what they were doing was important and that the police officers recognized that they fell into the group of society that the occupiers represented, or the 99 percent. Tr.:29. The officer then thanked the occupiers for their recent cooperation, but asked them to leave and told them that citations would be issued if they did not leave. Tr.:29. He informed the occupiers that if they remained after a citation was issued to them for not obeying the ordinance, the police would arrest them and charge them with misdemeanor trespass. Tr.:29. The defendants in this case represent the group of individuals who were either cited or charged after refusing to leave the park.
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