A member of Occupy Gainesville said she and other protesters were on the sidewalk of Bo Diddley Community Plaza Thursday morning when it started pouring.
The weather got so bad that they relocated to the covered plaza stage. Soon after, a police officer made them leave the stage and go back into the downpour.
The problem was there's a city rule about when people can be in the downtown plaza, which includes the stage. You can be there from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., but you can be arrested for trespassing if you're there before or after public hours.
A member of Occupy Gainesville went before the Gainesville City Commission Thursday night to tell them about the situation, and several members are requesting that the park stay open 24/7. Commissioner Scherwin Henry said the police officer should have used better judgment and shouldn't have made the protesters go back into the storm.
What do you think? Do you think these protesters should have been booted out of the park?
