Yesterday, seven people associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested for “unlawful assembly” at a Florida International University campus, the Sun Sentinel reports.
The people were there for an Occupy FIU event, advertised as an art and music festival. Student William Sanchez, 25, who helped put it together, said they wanted to entertain students and also inform them about issues like rising tuition and fees.
FIU spokeswoman Maydel Santana-Bravo said the arrests happened because the students were protesting without a permit.
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Not true, Sanchez said. Occupy FIU had an event in the same location, the Deuxieme Maison pit, in November without a permit without a problem. They checked before Thursday with the FIU ombudsman, who again said no permit was needed for that spot.
Once the small crowd started to disperse was when Occupiers began using the “human microphone” technique, which involves members echoing what a speaker says loudly, which culminated in the arrests.
Occupiers at the state capitol also had a run-in with law enforcement this week. Occupy protesters visiting the capitol on the first day of the session on Tuesday were barred from entering the Senate chamber, which is commonly open to the public.
