Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Movement

Occupy Los Angeles

Type:

Left-of-center anti-capitalist protest movement
Status:

Defunct
Founded:

2011

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Occupy Los Angeles was a protest movement that emerged as a local manifestation of Occupy Wall Street, a left-of-center anti-capitalist movement that began in 2011. It formed as a camp around Los Angeles City Hall on October 1, 2011 to advocate general left-wing and anti-capitalist sentiments. Police eventually dispersed the camp, and the movement is now defunct. 1 2

Founding and History

Shortly after the original Occupy Wall Street anti-capitalist protests began in New York City at the end of September 2011, marches and rallies began in Los Angeles. These protests culminated in the formation of a camp in front of the Los Angeles City Hall in the public park on October 1. Media reports from the protests state that there was little formal organization in the camp. 3 4

At the beginning the camp reportedly had around 10 tents, but within days had grown to over 200 tents and 400 occupiers. The camp enjoyed de facto government support, with favorable comments from the mayor, who ordered the government to provide the protestors with rain ponchos at one point, and a resolution of support from the city council. 5 6

However, by the end of November of 2011, the city government began to lose patience with the protest over concerns about crime, vandalism and destruction of the park and area around city hall, and the accumulation of garbage and human waste. 7

The city government issued an eviction order at the end of November and succeeded in encouraging many of the protestors to disperse without trouble. However, in the early morning of November 30, over 1,500 police officers moved into the camp and began to dismantle it. Some 290 protestors were arrested for failing to disperse, with some climbing trees and requiring the police to remove them with lift machines. Two additional people were arrested for interfering with the police and committing battery on an officer. 8

The police reported large amounts of human waste and the camp reeking of “a horrible stench.”  The Los Angeles sanitation department had to haul away 30 tons of trash in the aftermath of the protest and remove 3,000 gallons of water that had accumulated in a basin in the park which had to be tested for contamination from the garbage and human waste. 9 10

Celebrity Supporters

The protest camp was visited by various celebrities, including left-wing political commentator Keith Olbermann, talk-show host Tavis Smiley, and radical-left academic Cornel West. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morelli performed a concert at the camp. The group received funding for a media center from three Hollywood producers whose identities were not disclosed. 11

Demands

The demands of the protests were rather unclear. One goal was to prevent a Los Angeles woman’s home from being foreclosed; however, by October 12, the bank had allowed the woman to stay in her home. Other goals stated by participants were vague and generally not actionable, such as reviving “global democracy” or restoring “economic justice.” 12

Leadership

Part of the movement’s incoherence and squalor was a product of a conscious strategy to not have leaders. Instead, there would be a daily meeting taking place at 7:00 PM that would sometimes last until after midnight. One activist stated that the group was “building a new society” and that not having leaders would help that effort. 13

References

  1. Whitcomb, Dan, and Mary Slosson. “Police Take down Occupy LA Camp, Arrest Nearly 300.” Reuters, November 30, 2011, sec. U.S. News. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-protests-idUSTRE7AT0FO20111130.
  2. Whitcomb, Dan, and Mary Slosson. “Police Take down Occupy LA Camp, Arrest Nearly 300.” Reuters, November 30, 2011, sec. U.S. News. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-protests-idUSTRE7AT0FO20111130.
  3. Fischer, Mary A. “Occupy L.A.: Where the 99% Get an Assist From Hollywood’s 1%.” The Atlantic, October 12, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/occupy-la-where-the-99-get-an-assist-from-hollywoods-1/246561/.
  4. Kudler, Adrian Glick. “Exploring Occupy Los Angeles, the City’s Newest Microhood.” Curbed LA, October 12, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://la.curbed.com/2011/10/12/10434272/exploring-occupy-los-angeles-the-citys-newest-microhood.
  5. Kudler, Adrian Glick. “Exploring Occupy Los Angeles, the City’s Newest Microhood.” Curbed LA, October 12, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://la.curbed.com/2011/10/12/10434272/exploring-occupy-los-angeles-the-citys-newest-microhood.
  6. Fischer, Mary A. “Occupy L.A.: Where the 99% Get an Assist From Hollywood’s 1%.” The Atlantic, October 12, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/occupy-la-where-the-99-get-an-assist-from-hollywoods-1/246561/
  7.  Whitcomb, Dan, and Mary Slosson. “Police Take down Occupy LA Camp, Arrest Nearly 300.” Reuters, November 30, 2011, sec. U.S. News. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-protests-idUSTRE7AT0FO20111130.
  8. Whitcomb, Dan, and Mary Slosson. “Police Take down Occupy LA Camp, Arrest Nearly 300.” Reuters, November 30, 2011, sec. U.S. News. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-protests-idUSTRE7AT0FO20111130.
  9. Whitcomb, Dan, and Mary Slosson. “Police Take down Occupy LA Camp, Arrest Nearly 300.” Reuters, November 30, 2011, sec. U.S. News. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-protests-idUSTRE7AT0FO20111130.
  10. Zahniser, David, and Nicole Santa Cruz. “Occupy L.A.: 30 Tons of Debris Left behind at City Hall Tent City.” Los Angeles Times, December 1, 2011. Archived from from the original December 1, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20111201202935/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/occupy-la-30-tons-of-debris-left-behind-at-city-hall-tent-city.html
  11. Fischer, Mary A. “Occupy L.A.: Where the 99% Get an Assist From Hollywood’s 1%.” The Atlantic, October 12, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/occupy-la-where-the-99-get-an-assist-from-hollywoods-1/246561/.
  12. Fischer, Mary A. “Occupy L.A.: Where the 99% Get an Assist From Hollywood’s 1%.” The Atlantic, October 12, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/occupy-la-where-the-99-get-an-assist-from-hollywoods-1/246561/.
  13. Fischer, Mary A. “Occupy L.A.: Where the 99% Get an Assist From Hollywood’s 1%.” The Atlantic, October 12, 2011. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/occupy-la-where-the-99-get-an-assist-from-hollywoods-1/246561/.
  See an error? Let us know!