Judge bars Occupy camp in Columbia

COLUMBIA -- The Occupy protesters were handed an eviction notice Thursday: They can march on the Statehouse grounds 24 hours a day, but they can't sleep there and their tents must go.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that an emergency regulation adopted Tuesday by a South Carolina oversight panel chaired by Gov. Nikki Haley gives the state government authority to stop the protesters from camping, sleeping or engaging in other living accommodations on the grounds.

Sara Williams, a physician's assistant from Columbia, said the ruling was a discouragement but not a defeat to the men and women who have occupied the Statehouse grounds for 70 days.

"The free speech part of it has been overlooked," Williams said. "The occupation itself is the protest."

Williams said the Occupiers are still working out their strategy. They will pack up their belongings by today, but they won't vacate the grounds. She said the protesters expect a strong showing in the days leading up to the Legislature's return to session Jan. 10.

The goal for the protesters is to occupy the Statehouse as lobbyists and moneyed groups with special interests do. The loosely organized national movement aims to draw attention to inequity in America and the influence the wealthy can have over government.

State officials agreed to give the protesters a reasonable amount of time to remove their tents, sleeping bags and personal items from the grounds, which encompass a city block in the heart of Columbia.

The state's emergency regulation is modeled after a National Park Service policy. In a ruling earlier this month, Currie said the state did not have an adequate policy in place to kick the protesters off the grounds and her order allowed them to stay temporarily.

The emergency rule can stay in effect for 90 days until the state puts a permanent regulation in place.

Haley said the protesters were a liability to the state and created a threat to public safety and health. Their presence created an opportunity for criminal activity and their food could be a health hazard, Haley and the government lawyers argued.

Reynolds Blankenship, a lawyer for the Occupiers, told the judge the case was about free speech.

"I believe the First Amendment gives our clients the right to be there," he said.

Blankenship said the protesters had not immediately decided whether to take the case to state court.

The governor has said consistently that her objection to the Occupy protesters was that they did not ask permission to use the grounds, as groups routinely do.

Currie said the state has a significant and valid interest in taking action that will limit the potential for crime. And so, she said, the emergency rule is not unreasonable. Additionally, the Occupy movement has alternative channels to communicate their message, Currie said.

Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-926-7855, follow her on Twitter at @yvonnewenger and read her Political Briefings blog.

COLUMBIA -- Authorities say a 47-year-old man who identified himself as an Occupy Columbia protester was arrested for urinating near a monument on Statehouse grounds.

The arrest Wednesday night for disorderly conduct offered the first evidence of what Gov. Nikki Haley has been complaining about for weeks without proof. Public records requests for complaints, reports or video have previously produced nothing.

A police report says Toby Wood of Columbia was arrested about 10 p.m. after an officer saw him urinate in the grass near the Veterans Monument. The report says Wood told the officer he had consumed two beers.

Wood has no listed phone number.

Protesters have denied Haley's accusations they've used bushes as toilets.

Associated Press