Occupiers Claim Court Victory, But State Has Other Options

Today a judge agreed to drop all charges against Occupy Nashville protesters arrested last month. A lawyer for occupiers says for now they can keep protesting and camping on the War Memorial Plaza – but that’s not the final word.

Occupiers claimed the dropped charges as a victory, saying now they can focus on protesting and preparing to stay through winter. Attorney David Briley says for the time being no one will be arrested for occupying the plaza. But he says the state could eventually set new rules for the area.

“That’s going to take some time. They’re going to have to go through the Administrative Procedures Act process to do that. And after that we’ll just have to see what sort of reasonable limitations there are on the use of the plaza.”

Occupiers say public support helped get them through last month’s wave of arrests, and will be vital if police try to kick them out again. In the meantime, they’re looking at a different problem – how to keep building popular support, after the headlines fade.

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The state’s case against occupiers was dismissed after Governor Bill Haslam asked last week to drop charges. A state curfew for the occupied area near the capitol has been on hold, and still faces a court challenge next week.

NOTE: The area occupiers have been camping in is commonly referred to as Legislative Plaza, but that’s not quite correct. They’re outside the War Memorial Building, on what is technically the roof of Legislative Plaza, in an area properly named War Memorial Plaza.