Tennessee Judge Halts Occupy Nashville Arrests
Judge blocks a state-imposed curfew against protesters.
| Posted Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, at 11:26 AM
Photograph by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images.
Anti-Wall Street protesters in Tennessee scored a victory Monday when a judge ordered police to stop enforcing new rules aimed at curbing the demonstrations.
CNN reports that the rules, which were enacted late last week, required protesters to have permits to assemble and placed a curfew that banned the protesters from staying overnight in Legislative Plaza in downtown Nashville, where they have been camped out since early October.
Nearly 30 of the protesters were arrested outside the plaza this past Friday at 3 a.m., and another two dozen or so were arrested the following day, according to The Raw Story. Most received citations for trespassing, although two were cited for public intoxication. Republican Gov. Bill Halsam reportedly signed off on the arrests himself.
The victory may be short lived, however. The U.S. district judge issued only a temporary restraining order against the curfew that will remain in effect until Nov. 21, when there will be a hearing on the issue.
