Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper Evicts Occupy Denver With Heavy-Handed Riot Police Raid

The 99 Percent Movement scored a victory late last night as the city of New York and Brookfield Properties backed off their attempt to evict protesters at Occupy Wall Street for a park cleaning and the enactment of new rules that threatened to shut down the occupation.

Yet last night the movement also suffered a major setback as Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) evicted Occupy Denver demonstrators from the park where they had encamped after decreeing that protesters are no longer allowed to sleep there overnight. At approximately 3 a.m. last night, riot police were ordered into Lincoln Park, which is alongside the state capitol. As demonstrators loudly protested, the riot police moved in and started physically removing people. There were multiple arrests. One protester pointed out the stark contrast between the peaceful demonstration and the riot police:

Casey Childers, a 27-year-old student from the University of Colorado at Denver, said she was kicked off a median in the middle of Colfax where she was holding a sign with a blue peace sign on it. “They showed up in full riot gear and all we have are signs and slogans,” Childers said. “I’m very concerned we are not able to protest peacefully and freely.”

Denver’s News 9 was on the scene as police arrived to evict demonstrators. Watch their report:

As Hickenlooper has restricted his ban to people staying in the park overnight, many protesters plan to continue their actions for economic justice during the day. They are holding a major rally tomorrow, when hundreds of demonstrations in 82 countries are planned in a day of global protest for local democracy.