San Francisco police raided the former site of Hayes Valley Farm just before 2AM this morning, clearing out protestors who had been occupying the location for nearly two weeks.
The first word of the raid came around 1:55am:
The first word of the raid came around 1:55am:
SFPD giving activists at #GeziGardens in SF just 2mins to leave ( @carriem213 live at http://t.co/t7QHXBTGi2)
— #WereFucked (@worthoftheworld) June 13, 2013
Dozens of riot police blocked off the area around the farm and began moving in. Multiple witnesses report that there was some noise, but overall the raid seemed to progress without much resistance. Police used a cherrypicker to access trees where 3 protestors were "treesitting" on makeshift platforms they had erected last week. SFPD reports that one such treesitter who was hanging from a tree limb suffered minor injuries after letting go and landing on foam padding that police had placed under the tree. A total of 7 protestors were arrested in the raid. Later, police moved a bulldozer in and started clearing the site. As of this morning, Laguna Street remained closed between Oak and Fell: Protestors now plan to reconvene tomorrow (Friday) at 6pm at Patricia's Green. Meanwhile, construction of a planned housing development at the site is expected to begin next week. We'll update with any more developments.Watching police officers in full helmeted gear evict protesters from Hayes valley farm. Seems peaceful but a lot of yelling to start.
— tessa (@tessap) June 13, 2013