Chess Match Unfolds Near Dawn at Occupy Los Angeles

Los Angeles Police Department Officers stood nose to nose with Occupy Los Angeles protesters near the intersection of 1st Street and Broadway at around 1 a.m. on Monday morning.

An array of mantras were chanted by the crowd.  "We are peaceful," some yelled; others, "Whose Streets? Our Streets."

Among the most frequently repeated chants, though, were three words that defined the chess match that unfolded in the hours following the minute-after-midnight deadline set by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to evacuate protesters from city hall.

"Occupy the Park!"

The call came from a strong contingent of protesters that believed their best chance to continue their protests over corruption in the government and financial system was by regrouping on the lawns of City Hall—which they had renamed Solidarity Park.

At about 1:20 a.m. a protester named Matthew Goodrich ran into the throng of protesters and police on 1st and Broadway and called for a mic-check—a parliamentary method of communication adopted by the Occupy protesters whereby one speaker shouts a few words, which are then repeated en masse by fellow protesters. 

Goodrich shouted that, should the protesters remain in the street, they risked being arrested for obstructing traffic. At the park, he insisted, the protesters could stand together and hold off LAPD's attempts to shut down the camp.

Other protesters, though, saw the standoff at 1st and Broadway as a critical moment—such as Humberto Rivera. He argued that this was a chance to peacefully occupy the streets and test the LAPD's mettle. Should officers choose to attack with batons and pepper spray, as they had in New York and Oakland, then so be it. The whole world was watching, after all, he said.

"They know better than to hurt us right here," Rivera said. "This is Los Angeles, home of the Rodney King riots. If they hurt us, the whole city will riot."

Eventually, crowds began to trickle back toward the park when another protester arrived with a mic-check proclamation—guidance handed down from Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild.

The unnamed protester shouted that, should the protesters hold Solidarity Park through the night, there was hope of receiving an injunction in the morning, which would allow them to legally stay on the lawns of City Hall.

Those hopes led the protesters to a short-lived attempt to link arms around City Hall—an effort that lasted for about half an hour.

However, the protesters strategy shifted yet again, after some of them relayed a message from LAPD Commander Bob Green that the department was determined to shut down the camps. If not tonight, then when the protesters numbers dwindled in the coming days.

Protester Daniel Dominguez, who spoke to the crowd via megaphone, said the occupiers best move may be to force LAPD's hand during Monday morning's early hours, while their numbers were still strong.

"We've been told by Commander Bob Green that they are going to move in soon," Dominguez said. "It may be best to stay in the streets, and force them to swarm now. Make it harder on them."

Dominguez said he was ready to be arrested.