November 18, 2011 - Occupy Philly Forcloses on Wells Fargo - the full uncensored version.

A jury acquitted a dozen Occupy Philadelphia demonstrators Tuesday -- and the judge shook their hands -- in their appeal of misdemeanor convictions stemming from 2011 arrests during a sit-in at a Wells Fargo Bank branch.

Philly.com:

They were charged with "defiant trespass."

But after a Common Pleas Court jury on Tuesday acquitted the 12 Occupy Philadelphia protesters arrested in a 2011 bank sit-in, the trial judge shook their hands and called them the "most affable group of defendants I've ever come across."

"I think what this really shows is that when the people of Philadelphia make a decision, they want someone accountable," said Aaron Troisi, a 26-year-old working toward a master's degree in education at Temple University. "Accountability and justice is not what they experienced with banks like Wells Fargo."

Troisi and 11 fellow Occupy demonstrators were acquitted of conspiracy and defiant trespass in the Nov. 18, 2011, sit-in inside a Wells Fargo Bank branch at 17th and Market Streets in Center City.

The jury of 10 women and two men had deliberated about 13 hours since Friday before it returned the verdict to a packed courtroom shortly before noon.

Afterward, Judge Nina N. Wright Padilla took the unusual step of coming down from the bench and asking all 12 to approach so she could shake their hands.

"I hope you continue your work in a law-abiding way," said Padilla.

Last year, Wells Fargo and four other major lenders reached a $25 billion settlement with attorneys general across the nation to end investigations into alleged foreclosure abuses.

Occupy National Gathering

View a complete list of speakers, workshops, and trainings here: LEARN & CREATE
Occupy National Gathering Schedule (printable version: right click, save link as…)

SATURDAY, JUNE 30TH

All activities will be on Independence Mall (5th and Market) and surrounding parks unless otherwise noted.
9am – Set-up – Independence Mall and surrounding location
11am – 3pm – Occupy Caravans arrive
11am – 1:30pm – Speakers
1:45pm – 3pm – Open Space, Workshops, and Speaker Follow-up Sessions
3pm – NatGat Welcome – Main Stage
3:30pm – “Know Your Rights” training – Main Stage
4pm – “Summer Training” – Community/Solidarity/Skill-Building Exercises
6pm – March
7:30pm – Dinner served*
8pm – 9pm – OccuArts – On-stage Performances (if you’d like to perform, contact Jacob at wjacobr@gmail.com)
9pm – Festivities: Panic Hour Comedy Show

*All meals will be “first come, first served”, but we’ll do our best to get everyone fed. Please bring food to share if you can.

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Police have given "final warning" to leave the park. Follow along on Twitter.

It seems that the Occupy Philadelphia protesters have decided to leave peacefully, and are marching to occupy somewhere else!

Brian Stetler for the NYT reports:

In center city Philadelphia, hundreds gathered outside City Hall in a show of solidarity ahead of a city-imposed Sunday evening deadline to clear a campsite there. The protesters braced for a police sweep, but it did not take place immediately after the 5 p.m. deadline, surprising few.

“I think most people imagine that this is going to happen when we least expect it,” said Khadijah White, a University of Pennsylvania doctoral student who helps facilitate Occupy Philadelphia meetings.

Many tents remained at the site, though some protesters said they had removed their other valuables ahead of time. Protesters — including many who don’t actually camp out around the clock, but who sympathize with those who do — indicated that they would stay at the campsite well into the night on Sunday. Some said they planned to sit down and resist efforts by the police to remove them from Dilworth Plaza, where the protesters have stayed in Philadelphia since Oct. 6.

It's now 4:30am EST, still no eviction, no arrests, no pepper spray or rubber bullets.

Here's the Occupy Philadelphia livestream if you want to check in on them.