St. Louis occupiers told to end encampment

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis officials have told Occupy St. Louis protesters to move out of a downtown park by Friday, but many of the demonstrators said they plan to be arrested when police action begins.

The city gave notice to occupiers that they have until 3 p.m. to end the encampment at Kiener Plaza, where an estimated 100 demonstrators have been sleeping in 52 tents. Eddie Roth of Mayor Francis Slay's staff declined to say when police will take action to remove protesters who remain.

"Part of it is, let's see what happens," Roth said, noting there have been several recent efforts to find other venues for the protests. "Now, it's up to the demonstrators to weigh their options about whether they want to take advantage of any other opportunities, or to be involved in ordinance violations."

Members of Occupy St. Louis say protesters will not respond with violence, but several plan civil disobedience and are willing to be arrested, said John Mills, a spokesman for the group. A team from the American Civil Liberties Union plans to be at the small park to offer advice to the demonstrators.

Roth called civil disobedience "a respectable part of our political tradition," and urged the protesters to be aware of the need to minimize risk to themselves and the police who are dealing with them.

Hundreds of demonstrators who have joined nationwide Occupy protests against what they call corporate greed and economic inequality have been arrested for refusing to leave various public properties, often without incident. There have been some more serious conflicts with police -- most notably in Oakland, Calif., where two Iraq War veterans were hurt in separate clashes with officers -- but there have been no reports of violence in St. Louis.

Only 10 arrests have been reported in St. Louis, all for curfew violations one night early in the encampment that sprung up early last month. Police have since allowed the protesters to remain camped despite their apparent violation of two city laws: the 10 p.m. park curfew and a prohibition of structures such as tents in parks.

City leaders held a cordial meeting Tuesday with about four dozen protesters, during which the two sides sharing ideas about possible alternatives to Kiener Plaza and agreed they wanted to avoid any violent confrontations.

City officials offered some compromises such as 24-hour access to sidewalks for protests near the park. Mary Ellen Ponder, a special assistant to Slay, suggested development of a "speaker's corner" that would be available constantly for anyone. The city also offered use of another downtown park, albeit one not quite so visible, though overnight camping would be prohibited there, too.

"I do not consider those to be acceptable alternatives," said protester Sasha Patino, a 41-year-old accounting and business management student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He said the protesters planned a Friday evening meeting to consider what to do.