Occupy Louisville Protests at the Court House by Chelsea Rabideau WHAS11.com Posted on January 20, 2012 at 6:31 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Across the country and here at home, members of the Occupy movement took their fight to the courthouse. They’re calling it Occupy the Courts.
The protest marks the two year date since the U.S. Supreme court issued the Citizens United ruling. It states that the government cannot put limits on independent spending by corporations for political purposes under the First Amendment.
Members of Occupy Louisville put on a mock wedding during the protest to make their point. The government bride married corporate America. Keith Rouda with Occupy Louisville says they’re pushing for an amendment that would take corporations out of the election equation.
But, the group is facing some challenges back at their camp at Founder’s Square too, a legal battle with the city. The city believes the movement has become nothing more than a homeless encampment and they want the tents gone. Organizers say it’s within their constitutional rights to stay. They’ve filed an injunction against the city to keep them from evicting the group.
We stopped by the camp Friday and spoke with a man who says he’s homeless, but has other reasons for being part of Occupy Louisville.
“My views are that, corrupt government shouldn’t dictate what the people who can barely make it through, why should they dictate what we can do so we can scrape by? Everybody should have a job, a decent house, a car, just basic necessities…The homeless shouldn’t be an issues, you know, because everybody’s here for the occupation, not because they’re homeless,” James Oberacker said. “They all have their own little reasons why they’re here.”
They Mayor’s office says the city is noticing fewer and fewer original occupiers as time goes on. But, Rouda insists they’re still going strong.
“I’m shocked at how strongly they’re holding,” Rouda said. “I thought the cold weather would pose a problem, but both at the encampment, which is still holding and going strong, and even more so, there are thousands and thousands of people who are identifying with the movement who are very much engaged.”
The Mayor’s office says they will not evict the occupiers or remove tents for now. They’re waiting for a hearing on the injunction before they’ll make a decision.
