On Wednesday, December 12th, members of (de)Occupy Honolulu filed a lawsuit against the City & County of Honolulu, Wesley Chun (Director & Chief Engineer of Department of Facilities Maintenance), Trish Morikawa (County Housing Coordinator), and Sergeant Larry Santos (Honolulu Police Department), over deprivation of civil rights during raids on the encampment, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai`i. On Monday, December 17th, a Temporary Restraining Order has been issued, until the Preliminary Injunction hearing in a month, dealing with raids of Thomas Square. All defendants have either quit their jobs or retired since the last raid at Thomas Square, the day before Thanksgiving.

The lawsuit focus on the city & county’s abuse of Ordinance 10-29 (AKA Bill 39), which limits the use of sidewalks after pushing (de)Occupy to the sidewalk, and Ordinance 11-029 (AKA Bill 54), which allows the Department of Facility Maintenance, Housing, Parks, and HPD to traumatize, steal, and brutalize the vulnerable houseless population

Since the (de)Occupy camp was established on November 5, 2011, the movement has been fighting against Ordinance 11-029, which was used as a tool to repress freedom of speech within hours of being signed into law. City ordinances like Bill 39 and Bill 54 criminalize the houseless. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals stated in Tony Lavan v. City of Los Angeles, “For many of us, the loss of our personal effects may pose a minor inconvenience. However, . . . the loss can be devastating for the homeless.”

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CNN's Al Goodman reports on the leftist mayor in Spain's Cordoba province who takes his villagers on food raids, earning him the moniker "The Robin Hood Mayor."

Livestreaming from Chicago Indymedia and HammerHard MediaWorks.

[Caution: Strong language -NSFW]

A founding committee member of Occupy Riverside, tells CrooksandLiars that the protesters have faced increased brutality at the hands of the local police there during raids on their peaceful camp. During the arrest of a young U.S. veteran, the cameras are rolling allowing him to have his say before he is hauled off to booking.

Unfortunately, local media in the Riverside, CA area doesn't mention these vicious attacks during arrests even if it does mention the presence of the Occupiers.

The portion with the veteran speaking begins just before two minutes into the video.

We're glad to help Occupy Riverside get some much deserved attention for their non-violent efforts on behalf of the Occupy movement. The whole world is watching to see how our local officials react to the protests. It's up to those same officials to see to it that the response isn't harmful, and that it does not violate anyone's rights as an American.

In solidarity, Occupy Riverside.