On December 23, Occupy Denver quietly celebrated three months of loud, tense and occasionally fiery statements downtown. In that time span, the local chapter of the national movement has kept busy — and kept Westword busy — with stories that change not just daily, but hourly. If you’ve been following…
After Occupy Boulder pressured the city for weeks to deny its newly proposed park closure rule, Boulder’s City Council Agenda Committee has opened the issue for a public hearing on January 3. If passed, the proposal will enforce a curfew similar to that of Denver, requiring city parks and recreation…
We would present this without comment, but we’re not ready for the repercussions. It has been a busy December for Occupy Denver, whose three-month anniversary is tomorrow: thirteen arrests in Loveland, nine at Civic Center Park, fires, Tebowing, a fake death, homeless heckling and a (failed) attempt at a federal…
Gerardo Noriega, a 21-year-old Smoky Hill High School graduate, now knows he won’t be deported to Mexico in the near future, but his future is still in limbo. As part of the immigration review pilot program currently underway in Denver, Noriega was granted administrative closure on his immigration case last…
Updated, 12:40 p.m. December 22: Michael Clapper, one of nine arrested at Monday’s raid on the Occupy Denver encampment, has officially been charged with four counts of 4th degree arson. Behind the charges are the allegation that Clapper intentionally set fire to an encumbrance and other items in the area,…
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 earned…
Last night’s Occupy Denver eviction is unlikely to be the last one in the near future. In a statement on the subject, Mayor Michael Hancock supported the city’s actions and cited the now commonly repeated concerns of public safety and access. Accompanied by new Police Chief Robert White, Hancock confirmed…
About a week and a half ago, Occupy Denver protester Tanner Spendley became the main character in a situation that could easily be a bar joke. Three days before the local group occupied the Walmart distribution center in Loveland, Spendley heard a knock on the door of his Denver apartment…
To sum it up briefly, Occupy Denver’s meeting with Police Chief Robert White this afternoon lasted less than an hour and ended without any decisions or a consensus, but the main issue remained unresolved: whether there would be a police raid on the camp to remove its built-up fort city…
If you can get past the fact that Dick Cheney’s name is spelled wrong in the title of this video, the rest of it is still confusing. On Friday, a handful of Occupy Denver protesters visited the site of the former vice president’s recent (and secretive) trip to the Brown…
Friday marked a stark contrast between the polite Civic Center Park of yesterday and its new protest version 2.0. In the center of the park, the Civic Center Conservancy held a belated birthday party for the park’s greatest supporter, former Denver Mayor Robert Speer. And in the front of the…
Shortly after Texas Governor Rick Perry invoked Tim Tebow at last night’s Republican presidential debate, followers of another candidate, Ron Paul, delivered a message to Denver-area drivers — one that may have pissed off as many of them as it inspired. Unknown Paul supporters hung banners on a series of…
Last night, at the final Republican presidential candidate debate prior to the Iowa caucuses, Texas Governor Rick Perry threw a Hail Mary — by invoking a quarterback whose passing remains suspect in some quarters despite his current winning streak. Yes, it’s true. The increasingly desperate former frontrunner attempted to hitch…
They don’t make Air Bud movies about pit bulls. There are no commercials in which a pit bull licks ice cream from a gleeful toddler’s cone of Rocky Road, and only Weimeraners seem to drive cars. In Denver, the pit bull breed is illegal, and it has been for decades…
Update, 4 p.m.: Public Works announced it is “re-evaluating” its plan to evict Occupy Denver. For the moment, Denver Public Works is backing away from its plan to remove structures from Occupy Denver’s encampment at Civic Center Park. After receiving a warning notice to remove the forts or face official…
After thirteen arrests on Monday following weeks in which no one was jailed, Occupy Denver spent last night strengthening its small fort city at Civic Center Park and preparing for a second wave of busts. Yesterday, Public Works officials served the group with a second official notice to remove all…
Update: According to the final numbers released from the Loveland Police Department, thirteen total arrests resulted from Occupy Denver’s attempt to shut down the area’s Walmart distribution center on Monday. Charges included obstructing a public roadway, hindering transportation and resisting arrest…
On Friday, the Denver Anarchist Black Cross, a collective that defends the rights of those involved in mass political and social movements, announced its intention to firmly remove itself from the arena of Occupy Denver. By the time of its decision, the twelve-person group had drawn together more than $15,000…
This week’s cover story subject, Occupy Denver protester and medical marijuana voice Corey Donahue, has cornered his role in Denver activism through strategies that are occasionally illegal and never boring. Say what you like about him, (Occupy Denver’s Twitter account called him out this morning), but the man stays busy…
Laura Lichter, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, describes prosecutorial discretion in the context of a police officer witnessing a bank robbery and jay-walking at the same time and knowing to stop the bank robber first. This is essentially the principal that is being put to work in the…
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 Michael Hancock’s staff and asks very specifically for any details…
This week’s federal court hearing between Occupy Denver and the city ended in a denied injunction but much food for thought. Lead plaintiffs attorney David Lane called the decision a civil rights tragedy and said Judge Robert Blackburn “ignored most of the evidence we put in front of him.” In…
