Lenina Rosenweg
1st June 2012, 19:11
We are reposting this press release from Occupy Homes MN as an important update to an inspiring week of action and violent police repression. Two members of Socialist Alternative (CWI supporters in the US), Nick Shillingford and Jessica Davis, were among those arrested last night. At a press conference held at noon today, Occupy Homes announced plans again attempt to re-occupy the Cruz family home tomorrow at 2pm.
Socialistworld.net
OccupyHomesMN: 14 Arrested at Cruz Home, Vowing Needless Foreclosure "Stops Here"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Contact:
Nick Espinosa 612-432-8888
Martha Ockenfels-Martinez 612-819-1203
Community members will hold 12 pm press conference at City Hall to condemn Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak’s use of public resources to defend the banks, joined by other homeowners facing foreclosure who have taken a pledge not to leave their homes.
In the latest incident in an ongoing showdown, officers violently arrested occupiers peacefully defending the Cruz family home from foreclosure Wednesday night. Fourteen were arrested defending 4044 Cedar Avenue Wednesday night, only 24 hours after Mayor Rybak’s office, facing mounting public pressure, issued a news release declaring "the City is not in the foreclosure business." In the statement, City Attorney Susan Segal is quoted saying "The City plays a limited role to protect public safety. The property is the responsibility of its owner… In this case, the City has fulfilled its legal obligation to secure the property."
"We hoped Mayor Rybak would stick to his word, but today’s police violence shows Rybak and his police protect and serve the banks, not our communities," said Martha Ockenfels-Martinez, an organizer with Occupy Homes MN and representative of the Cruz family. The 14 arrests Wednesday at the Cruz home bring this week’s total to 23 during 5 eviction attempts.
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5796
Socialistworld.net
OccupyHomesMN: 14 Arrested at Cruz Home, Vowing Needless Foreclosure "Stops Here"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Contact:
Nick Espinosa 612-432-8888
Martha Ockenfels-Martinez 612-819-1203
Community members will hold 12 pm press conference at City Hall to condemn Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak’s use of public resources to defend the banks, joined by other homeowners facing foreclosure who have taken a pledge not to leave their homes.
In the latest incident in an ongoing showdown, officers violently arrested occupiers peacefully defending the Cruz family home from foreclosure Wednesday night. Fourteen were arrested defending 4044 Cedar Avenue Wednesday night, only 24 hours after Mayor Rybak’s office, facing mounting public pressure, issued a news release declaring "the City is not in the foreclosure business." In the statement, City Attorney Susan Segal is quoted saying "The City plays a limited role to protect public safety. The property is the responsibility of its owner… In this case, the City has fulfilled its legal obligation to secure the property."
"We hoped Mayor Rybak would stick to his word, but today’s police violence shows Rybak and his police protect and serve the banks, not our communities," said Martha Ockenfels-Martinez, an organizer with Occupy Homes MN and representative of the Cruz family. The 14 arrests Wednesday at the Cruz home bring this week’s total to 23 during 5 eviction attempts.
http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5796