Occupy Tulsa protesters reject plea deal

The more than 40 people charged with the misdemeanor city ordinance violation already have been arraigned and have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Tuesday’s hearing was the first time the group has appeared together in the same court on one docket. Attorney Oliver Arbogast is representing most of the defendants. He said he planned to file motions related to why the charges should be dropped, citing the group’s First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceable assembly.

Arbogast is representing the defendants during the first phases of the case for free because he said he agrees with their messages, including the defense of the First Amendment and condemnation of what they see as the unchecked expanse of corporations.

“I think they’re committed to the actions, and I admire their spirit,” he said. “It’s been too long since someone stood up against the enormous influence of banks and corporations.”

A hearing on those motions and the city prosecutor’s response is scheduled for 2 p.m. April 5.

Presiding Municipal Judge Mitchell McCune said the time frame given for the motions and response is longer than normal, but he said he wants time to thoroughly study “each page of the motions.”

“There are numerous issues at stake here, and you’re going to need time to sort through them,” McCune said.

During the course of the arrests – in the early hours of Nov. 2 on the H.A. Chapman Centennial Green near Sixth and Main streets in downtown Tulsa – several protesters locked arms while sitting on the grass in the park despite Tulsa police officers’ calls for them to vacate the park, Tulsa World reports indicated. After warnings were made, police began arresting those in the park and pepper-sprayed at least five people.

In a news conference hours after the initial arrests, Police Chief Chuck Jordan defended the officers’ actions, saying that oleoresin capsicum spray – or pepper spray – is often used during an arrest to gain compliance if the subject is resisting.

Those were the first arrests and citations for violating park curfew. In the following days, 35 more arrests were made or citations issued; some people received multiple citations.

Daniel Lee, one of the Occupy Tulsa organizers who was cited several times for violating curfew, said Tuesday’s hearing was the beginning of a long struggle.

“We had the opportunity to bail out, but we’re here,” Lee said. “If they come out against us, we’ll keep going to make this a landmark case.”

Several protesters marched from Municipal Court Building down Fifth Street to the Centennial Green.