Politics & Government

Reed Orders Occupy Atlanta to Leave Park

Protest group to have until Monday to vacate downtown site

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed Wednesday afternoon issued an executive order for Occupy Atlanta to leave Woodruff Park in downtown by Monday.

For several days, the group Occupy Atlanta has staged a protest in Robert W. Woodruff Park.

After citing Atlanta's historic place as the "birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement," Reed said in his order, "At the same time, I am committed to protecting the public and ensuring that the laws of the city are respected. I will not allow public safety to be jeopardized in any way by the protesters. So far, all of their actions have been peaceful and nonviolent. Therefore, at 5 p.m. today (Wednesday), I issued an Executive Order that allows Occupy Atlanta to legally remain in Woodruff Park until the adjournment of the Atlanta City Council meeting on Monday, October 17, 2011."

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A spokesman for Occupy Atlanta told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the group will not abide by the mayor's executive order, adding its members are willing to be arrested.

The group, which has been encamped in Woodruff Park since the evening of Oct. 7, is part of the national Occupy Wall St. movement, which aims to battle what is sees as corporate corruption and goverment failure among several other issues.

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Occupy Atlanta's original permit  allowed them to stay in the park, which the group renamed Troy Davis —after the death row inmate executed last month — to stay until 11 p.m. Oct. 7.

But Occupy Atlanta remained.

On Wednesday, the group marched to Bank of America Plaza in Midtown.


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