Their ranks swelled with local college students, Occupy Boston had its first major confrontation with Boston Police today, at the North Washington Street bridge to Charlestown, which police refused to let them cross.
As protesters milled about, some shouting to take the bridge, police brought in every prisoner transport wagon in the city and reinforcements from across the city to join the downtown and motorcycle cops already on scene. Even drug and gang officers were summoned to the area between Haymarket and the bridge, just in case.
In the end, however, protesters marched back to the Occupy Boston encampment at Dewey Square, spurred, in part, by a rumor that police were taking down the tents. Tonight, protesters await what they say is a midnight deadline from Boston Police to remove tents in a different part of the Greenway, north of that Big Dig structure, that had been empty or police will move in and take out the entire tent city.
Boston Police have turned to Twitter to ask protesters to take down the new tents. In a series of tweets tonight, BPD explained;
BPD requesting protestors return 2 original @Occupy_Boston site on Greenway to continue peaceful protest. Thank you 4 ur cooperation.
BPD seeks to curtail additional damage to newly developed green space at second site. Please adhere @Occupy_Boston. Thank you.
@Occupy_Boston: the Greenway Conservancy recently invested over 150k in new plantings 4 all to enjoy @ 2nd site. Pls return to original.
Earlier in the day: Protesters return to Dewey Square.
Photo by FishHeadNed posted under this Creative Commons license.
