"Be advised that everybody on the property is trespassing." So said a Creek County Sheriff Department officer as he ordered activists off of private property yesterday.
He and his fellow officers looked like they were dressed for combat in a war zone, but in fact they had come to evict a woman from her home in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The following photos depict those officers, dressed in combat fatigues and carrying assault weapons, before and during arrests of activists affiliated with Occupy Denver at yesterday's foreclosure defense. (Photos by activist Ambrose Cruz.)
The homeowner facing eviction was apparently underwater on her mortgage with US Bank. She says she told the bank that all she was asking was for another 30 days in the home before an eviction. She needed an extra month in order to find another place to live, she said.
But US Bank and the Creek County Sheriff's Department had other plans, culminating a show of force that thoroughly alarmed activists who had descended on the property to attempt to prevent the eviction.
Twitter user @eadvocate reported what was happening on scene:
I just spoke with this photographer, Josh Wilson. He described the @askusbank eviction as a home "under siege". twitter.com/eadvocate/stat… #occupy
— E-Advocate Network (@eadvocate) October 31, 2012
His is the fourth account that both the mobile phone lines and the wifi were cut off during the @askusbank eviction. #ows #occupydenver
— E-Advocate Network (@eadvocate) October 31, 2012
I spoke with this arestee about the @askusbank eviction of a homeowner. He said, "He thought he was going to die." twitter.com/eadvocate/stat…
— E-Advocate Network (@eadvocate) October 31, 2012
All the homeowner was trying to negotiate was 30 days to move out with dignity – to find a home to move to. She was met with assault rifles.
— E-Advocate Network (@eadvocate) October 31, 2012
You can see video from the eviction below. A livestreamer was temporarily detained but appears to have been released.
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