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Police militarization in Colorado: Cops in fatigues toting automatic weapons disperse anti-eviction activists

"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:

You can see video from the eviction below. A livestreamer was temporarily detained but appears to have been released.

Please note that by playing this clip YouTube and Google will place a long term cookie on your computer.

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