Updated 02/04/2012 06:01 PM
APD evicts Occupy Austin protesters from City Hall plaza
By: Paul Foster and Jeff Stensland
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
Police swept through the plaza in front of City Hall Friday night in an eviction of the Occupy Austin demonstrators.
The move, which came as a surprise to many, follows a new set of rules which were released to the demonstrators at around 9:30 p.m. Friday night.
The new rules prohibit demonstrators from occupying the plaza in front of City Hall between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and no tents will be permitted on the grounds at any time.
Demonstrators quickly began to pack belongings and mobilize reinforcements in preparation for the impending eviction.
"It's not a park, so it's not actually under the charter under a curfew ordinance. They are changing the rules legally through administrative measures," Debbie Russell with the American Civil Liberties Union said.
Around 11 p.m., officers with the Austin Police Department began their sweep of the plaza, starting from the east end and working west. A number of protesters resisted the push. Seven were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.
"Just because they evict us off this staircase doesn't mean it's going to go away magically and everybody's going to be rainbows and sunshine," protester Michelle Millette said.
Click here to read the new list of rules distributed to protesters Friday night.
A school bus chartered by the city was on-hand to transport any of the group’s transient population to a makeshift shelter established at a Home Depot in North Austin.
Occupy Austin, now approaching its fourth month, has drawn recent criticism for its financial cost to the city and the degrading conditions of the plaza.
At a recent meeting with Austin's Public Safety Commission, a representative from APD reported the department is spending about $110,000 per 2-week pay period for overtime.
"We have been in conversation with them for quite a while. We have been making it clear that what has been taking place here could not continue," Assistant City Attorney Michael McDonald said. "We are unable to continue at the pace that we've continued at this point."
After leaving the plaza, the group marched north on Guadalupe Street and headed east down Sixth Street.
According to members of Occupy Austin, the eviction took them by surprise and they are still working on a new plan.