OccupyMN plans to appeal for tents on Hennepin County property

OccupyMN protesters
OccupyMN protesters erected several tents at the Hennepin County Governmenet Center on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 15, 2011, and formed a circle around them, despite orders from the sheriff's department that structures are not permitted. Sheriff's deputies removed the tents early Sunday morning.
MPR Photo/Rupa Shenoy

Occupy Minnesota demonstrators say they'll appeal en masse to Hennepin County commissioners on Monday for permission to construct temporary shelters on the Hennepin County Government Center plaza in downtown Minneapolis.

Hundreds of protestors helped place about 10 transparent tents in the Center's south plaza Saturday, ignoring an order to remove the banned structures, and police officers tore the tents down at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. No one was arrested.

"The weather is changing and we have an inalienable right to have safety and shelter from the extremities," OccupyMN participant Jane Burns Leverenz, 59, of Pine City, told MPR.

But Hennepin County officials say the government center is surrounded by key transportation routes that must be kept open for public safety. They have invited the protesters to a 1:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday to discuss the protest.

It's been one week since protesters began gathering on the plaza, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street demonstration and similar gatherings in cities around the country.

On Sunday, the protests went global, with enormous crowds gathering in city centers inlcluding London, Madrid, Manilla, Tokyo and Athens. The gatherings have generally been peaceful, but in Rome, a splinter group of protesters turned violent and battled police in the streets.

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