Protests and Demonstrations

Occupy Denver: Independent monitor criticizes police, Department of Safety over protest tactics

Occupy Denver may no longer be making headlines, but at least one city official is still talking about the protesters -- specifically law enforcement's role in a violent confrontation. A recent report from the Office of the Independent Monitor, the city's official watchdog, says Denver Police and th ... More >>

Occupy Wall Street enters the classroom at UCD next semester

Hey, remember Occupy Wall Street? The almost-revolution that rallied Americans to address our ever-widening income gap, yet ultimately splintered into obscurity due to idealistic infighting? Yes, that one. While the movement is mostly behind us, it played a major role in the last election. And that' ... More >>

The director of Occupy Unmasked talks facts, bias and the future of the movement

Occupy Wall Street celebrated its first birthday this week. In the past year, the young political movement has inspired laws, riots and several retrospective glances, not the least among them the new documentary Occupy Unmasked. Directed by conservative filmmaker Stephen K. Bannon, the piece stays t ... More >>

The new Flobots album, The Circle in the Square, celebrates worlds big and small

See also: - Remembering Sandy Widener - Flobots ink deal with Shanachie Entertainment - Q&A: Jonny 5 of Flobots on the Occupy Movement - Q&A: Jonny 5 of Survival Story Sometimes Denver can feel like a very hip Mayberry. While waiting to meet the founding members of Flobots at the Denver Bike Cafe, ... More >>

Everybody loves a good Walmart protest

Photos: Occupy Denver marches to support 25 peers at NATO Summit

The mass protest against the weekend's North American Treaty Organization summit might be 1,000 miles from Denver, but its ties to the city are represented by at least 25 Occupy Denver protesters who traveled to attend. And when Occupy Wall Street placed a call for national action this weekend, the ... More >>

Occupy Denver at six months: Ten unintended consequences of the movement

Today, on Occupy Denver's six-month anniversary, the organization is separated from its long-time home in Civic Center Park. Regardless of whether you expected the movement to make it this long, the past half a year brought no shortage of eye-opening events and preparation for the future. In order t ... More >>

Video: Fox 31's Eli Stokols drops F-bombs on Occupy Denver protesters

Update below: When Occupy Denver members mark the group's six-month anniversary next week, they'll focus on accomplishments. One example: Protesters recently interrupted and shut down a live Fox 31 broadcast with complaints of subpar previous coverage. From there, as you'll see in the video below, t ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Police and Public Works amp up park visits after reported scabies case

Last week, one Occupy Denver protester self-identified as having scabies. The skin infection, created by mites inside the skin, is spread through close contact, leaving city officials concerned about health in Civic Center Park and protesters worried about repeated visits from police and Public Work ... More >>

Photos: Occupy Denver takes an anti-ALEC tour of downtown Denver

The 16th Street Mall was temporarily shut down Wednesday, when Occupy Denver staged a march against the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is a conservative nonprofit that favors large corporations, demonstrators said, and its membership includes over 2,000 state legislators. The protest un ... More >>

Occupy Denver's Tim Holland on why Saturday's "F*ck the Police" march isn't official OD event

Update: The decision to stage a "Fuck the Police" rally is controversial even for the Occupy Denver members who support Saturday's event -- get details below. Still, occupier Tim Holland explains why the organization as a whole hasn't signed on: While Occupy Denver (by which he means the entire grou ... More >>

Photos: Occupy Denver shuts down traffic during first mass event of 2012

Occupy Denver was among groups in 27 cities to rally in support of Occupy Oakland, which experienced a recent round of 300 arrests. About 125 protesters gathered for an impromptu march that shut down large sections of traffic near Broadway and Colfax between 7:30 and 10 p.m. and attracted the attent ... More >>

Occupy Boulder: Evidence suppressed after police enter tents without warrant

For two Occupy Boulder protesters arrested for violating the city's anti-camping ordinance, the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search has proven to be a valuable defense. In the case of Peter John Jentsch and Katie DeMichele, Boulder municipal judge Linda Cooke approved the suppr ... More >>

Reader: Occupy Denver's election of Shelby the dog as leader marked day I stopped caring

Kelsey Whipple's post in which Mayor Michael Hancock shared his view that the public no longer cares about Occupy Denver attracted numerous comments from supporters disputing his conclusion. But there was also this take from someone very much on Hancock's wavelength.

Occupy Littleton launched with five-person general assembly

On Sunday, at 2 p.m. in the Bemis Public Library, five people gathered to launch the first general assembly of Occupy Littleton. If the idea that democracy takes time ever needed proof, this would be it. One person shy of a round half-dozen, the group appeared dwarfed in the city library's largest m ... More >>

Updated: Occupy Denver's latest eviction ends in flames, arrests and Tebowing

​Update, 12:50 p.m. December 21: The criminal charges of the nine protesters arrested during Monday night's raid include arson, obstructing a street and throwing missiles. Among them, one name stands out: Nicole Sisneros, a homeless protester who was discussed on last night's episode of Countd ... More >>

Occupy Denver's Ben Meyer discusses 'fiery raid' on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Ben Meyer.​Two nights ago, Occupy Denver protester Ben Meyer woke up on the sidewalk of Broadway, put on his shoes and spent the rest of his evening with the Denver Police Department. The next night, he spoke on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Last night, the fire-forged raid on Occupy Denver ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Homeless protesters interrupt Mayor Hancock during homeless vigil

By now, it's public knowledge that about 30 Occupy Denver supporters interrupted Mayor Michael Hancock's speech during a vigil for the homeless last night on the steps of the City & County Building. This is true. Little, however, has been shared about the decision-making process behind last night's ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Why did city not cite conference call about occupiers in open records request?

Michael Hancock.​Update: Westword recently received a copy of Kilmer, Lane & Newman's updated CORA request from investigator Christopher Dodd. The document is blunt: In it, Dodd references the existence of an Occupy movement-related U.S. Conference of Mayors conference call involving Mayor Mic ... More >>

Occupy Denver timeline: Two-and-a-half months that have shaken the city

​Monday's hearing in regard to Occupy Denver's request for a temporary restraining order against the city and county is one indication of how far the movement has come in its short life span. In the little more than two months the movement has called Broadway its ideological home, the group ha ... More >>

Jonny 5 of Flobots reflects on the Occupy Movement and talks about the act's new album

Emily Crenshaw, Mary Grace Legg, Sole

A timeline of Occupy Denver activities

Occupy Denver marks two-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street with peaceful first march

​Today's initial celebration of Occupy Wall Street's two-month anniversary ended with the largest display of honks from passing cars the local movement has heard in a while (at least without a ticket). The day has been designated a national cause for action for occupations across the world, an ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Large police presence moves in on three tents with pepper spray and arrests

​Update, 8:44 p.m. November 12: According to Occupy Denver's website, sixteen arrests have been confirmed so far. The group remains mobilized downtown. While both Civic Center Park and Lincoln Park have been closed, protesters will be allowed to camp outside again in the future, but will not b ... More >>

Occupy Denver: 21 police cars respond after Halloween try to occupy City Council meeting

​On Halloween night, an evening notorious for tricks, treats and the increased police presence that mix requires, Occupy Denver was met by 21 police cars over an hour an a half. After a failed attempt by protesters to meet with city council, ten police cars monitored six occupiers outside the ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Biggest riot squad presence to date, pepper bullets, multiple arrests (PHOTOS)

​Update, 11:01 p.m. October 29: Twenty people were arrested during what has been Occupy Denver's most violent day in weeks. All evidence of the Thunderdome and the front desk has been removed, and officers offered protesters the chance to claim their belongings one at a time as the area was cl ... More >>

Occupy Denver: Police arrest homeless vet Billy Reno for raising a tent

Billy Reno.​Wednesday night featured the third round of busts involving Occupy Denver, although the arrestee list increases by only one man: Billy Reno, a 49-year-old homeless veteran and recent Westword profile subject. As increasingly colder temperatures drive the campsite toward more desper ... More >>

Reader: Overnight parking tickets discourage people from going downtown

MC Sole on what the Occupy Denver movement represents and the solidarity it has fostered

Jenn Wohletz​The Occupy Wall Street movement is loosely modeled after the "Arab Spring" wave of demonstrations that swept through the Arab world. Immediately based upon civil resistance, civil disobedience and the overall right to general assembly, these protests have been sweeping the nation ... More >>

Occupy Facebook: The five worst anti-protest memes

​So, if Facebook is the future of social discourse, it should be no surprise that it's been a forum for Occupy Wall Street discussions and visual arguments. Pictures, cartoons, graphics -- anti-Occupy Facebookers have taken to the virtual streets of Zuckerberg's city to fight Occupy Wall Stree ... More >>

Occupy Denver and Tea Party protests make Denver America's angriest city, says Daily Beast

​There are plenty of differences between the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements, as cartoonist Kenny Be pointed out in his post "Occupy Wall Street vs. the Tea Party: A visual guide." But their members' shared sense of dissatisfaction inspired The Daily Beast to use them as a barometer ... More >>

Occupy Denver petition protests arrests, hopes for 10,000 signatures

Brandon Marshall​A great deal of attention has been lobbied at the number of Occupy Denver arrests made over the weekend: fifty in two days. And though the Denver Anarchist Black Cross has been hugely instrumental in guaranteeing the release of the prisoners on bond, funds are running low. In ... More >>

Wild horse advocates rein in protest plans -- for now

Elyse Gardner​After a recent workshop with the Bureau of Land Management's National Wild Horse Advisory Board, one group of activists has decided to rein in plans for a protest. Although discussion between wild horse advocates and BLM representatives ranged from cordial to markedly tense at ... More >>

Medical marijuana community fights health department's PTSD policy

Courtesy of US Defense Dept.Approved PTSD simulator treatment.​Colorado Springs dispensary owner Drew Milburn, a veteran, doesn't like the state health department's opposition to using medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder -- and he's not alone. Team 420 has scheduled a pr ... More >>

Pot lands on Bill Ritter's desk -- but protesters will be outside

​Last night, with less than a day to go in this legislative session and plenty of work still to be done, the House reluctantly accepted the amendments the Senate had made to HB 1284 and passed the bill (by a 46 to 19 vote) that will regulate the operation of medical-marijuana dispensaries in t ... More >>

Warren Hern, Boulder abortion doctor, is "pissed," fears violence as Sacred Heart of Jesus protests clinic

Warren Hern has some harsh words for Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.​Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Catholic church and school that was recently the subject of national headlines for its refusal to teach the children of a same-sex couple in Boulder, has now become the target of an abortion doctor in ... More >>

Obnoxious North Carolina students leave Tom Tancredo speechless

Tom Tancredo cut short a planned speech on immigration at the University of North Carolina on Tuesday after a group of protesters sparked what the former congressman has described as a "small riot." Tancredo's appearance, at the invitation of a student organization called Youth for Western Civil ... More >>

DNC Cops: Chillin' Like Villians

That was quick! Anarchists amass downtown; traffic snarled for hours

And the recipient of the first DNC protest is ... Nancy Pelosi!

DNC Protesters Tent State Plan Pepsi Center Sleepover

War Protesters Get Funky at Coors Field

Recreate '68 Plans to Do Just That

Chicago in 1968 was a place of violence and chaos. Some activists would like to re-create those good old days.

88 Arrested at Columbus Parade Protest

The Donkey's Ass

Caption contest! Caption contest!

No Tell Hotel

Columbus Day Forecast: Stormy

Identity struggles continue to pit Italians against critics.

A Failure to Communicate

How confusion and chaos led to a reporter's arrest -- and a First Amendment court test.

Why Me, God?

An Iliff divinity student sues the school over disability access.