Excerpt
Refusing to leave their camp at Los Angeles' City Hall, Occupy protesters were seeking a federal court injunction to block their removal.
According to the complaint filed Monday, posted on the website of the Los Angeles Times, protesters are asking the court to address what they claim is "an unconstitutional deprivation of access to a traditional public forum, the south lawn of City Hall, for First Amendment activity."
Protesters say enforcement of the city's "anti-camping" provision is left up to the whim of the police. Recently, they note in the complaint, protesters were allowed to camp at a park to get a wrist band for free medical services; approximately 500 movie fans camped out on sidewalks for several days ahead of the first midnight showing of the new "Twilight" movie; and more than 1,000 people camped out ahead of the "Twilight" premiere, forcing a street closure.
"Even on Skid Row, just blocks from City Hall and around the corner from the Central LAPD station, each year families camp on the sidewalk for days to get free school supplies distributed by the Fred Jordan Mission," according to the documents. "Each of these 'camping' events is highly publicized in the media, takes place in highly-trafficked areas and could not possibly be an unnoticed and unintentional exception to enforcement of the municipal code."
The City Council has "expressly affirmed" that the Occupy LA demonstrators are within their First Amendment rights, the documents said, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, in ordering them to leave, overstepped his authority.
The protesters have held their ground and rallied on Monday, defying a 12:01 a.m deadline to disperse. Four people were arrested, but police then pulled back.
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