D.C. leaders’ support of Occupy DC is eroding after protesters broke into a city-owned building over the weekend, but city leaders stopped short of condemning the movement. Mayor Vincent Gray called the Saturday incident “completely unacceptable” in which 13 protesters were arrested and charged with breaking into the shuttered Franklin School downtown. He added that police have done a good job maintaining decorum and “we intend to continue to do that.”
“But we’re not going to tolerate illegal behavior,” Gray said Monday.
Even those on city council who have been supportive said the break-in crossed a line.
“I am a strong supporter of First Amendment rights but that does not extend to law breaking,” said Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham. “So if you break a door down and you go into a private property, or public property for that matter, I can’t support that.”
Last week Graham told The Washington Examiner that D.C. is “more sensitive to the important expressions of freedom of speech” than other cities where police have raided protest encampments and arrested hundreds.
(11-14-11)
