The arrest of Bo Diddley's son and three other Occupy Gainesville protesters has attracted international attention, and members of the movement plan to keep up its momentum.
Occupy Gainesville members are staying put on the downtown Bo Diddley Community Plaza during public hours but have to move to the sidewalks when the park closes at 11:30 p.m.
Jeremiah Tattersall, 25, an Occupy Gainesville participant, said members of the movement plan to go before the Gainesville City Commission on Thursday during citizen comment to ask to stay on the plaza after the park closes.
The Gainesville movement is a local branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has spread to cities across the globe, including Hong Kong, London and Toronto.
"We have a permanent occupation happening," said Tattersall, who is a delegate from the North Central Florida Central Labor Council. "A lot of people are angry."
Ellas Anthony McDaniel, the 56-year-old son of rhythm and blues singer Bo Diddley, said he plans to stay involved with the movement and has other plans in motion. McDaniel was arrested at 12:01 Friday morning for trespassing for staying on the plaza after public hours ended.
His arrest attracted attention from the The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, and Spinner.com, which is owned by AOL Music.
Prior to the arrest, Gainesville Police Department officers told the protesters that the park would close at 11:30 p.m. and that they would be arrested if they chose to stay on the plaza past that time.
Officers waited half an hour past the scheduled closing time to arrest protesters who didn't leave the plaza.
McDaniel was approached by an officer around midnight.
He was handcuffed, taken to a police car, given a notice to appear in court and released.
The notice counts as an arrest, but he was not taken to jail.
"The plans I've made regarding my arrest - I'm not sure if I want to speak about them because I never want to alert my enemies to the dangers that exist in the future for them," McDaniel said. "I am making plans."
Pat Fitzpatrick, 62; Ian Smith, 43; and Annette Gilley, 58, were also given notices to appear.
Gilley went back onto the plaza after she was given a notice to appear. She was taken to jail. As of Sunday, she was not listed in the jail database of current inmates.
