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Community Corner

'Occupy the Farm' Rally Draws Scores to Albany Library

Occupy activists march down Marin Avenue to the Gill Tract, leaving sunflowers on the fence Tuesday evening. Click the "Keep me posted" button below this story for updates on this topic.

Read more on Albany Patch about the Gill Tract occupation. This story was updated at 11:55 p.m., and again on May 17 at 1:15 p.m.

About 80 members and supporters of Occupy the Farm gathered in front of the Albany Community Center on Tuesday evening before marching to the and chanting. They left sunflowers on the Gill Tract fence, then departed for another rally in Oakland.

Occupy the Farm activists took over the UC Berkeley-owned research field April 22 and tended their own garden there, until University of California police removed them Monday morning, arresting nine people. One man remained on the property, in a tree, until Monday night.

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According to university spokesman Dan Mogulof, the man, identified as Edward Miller, 24, came down from the tree at about 8 p.m. Monday and was arrested on suspicion of trespassing and battery of an officer. He was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

Mogulof also said Miller is not a UC Berkeley student.

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The purposed of Tuesday's rally seemed to be to keep the momentum going, the activists connected and spirits up.

"We are growing and adapting to changes," spokeswoman Effie Rawlings told the group.

Another speaker told the gathering: "We had a vision for the Gill Tract,  vision of open access. We realized it for a short time... and we won't give it back."

(See videos, courtesy of YouTube user ForABitMoreContext, attached to this story.)

The march down Marin Avenue, around 5:30 p.m., held up traffic there and on San Pablo Avenue for about 10 minutes. A media helicopter flew overhead during the meeting, and Albany police cars were on site during the march.

The locked San Pablo entrance to the Gill Tract was watched by at least nine university police officers from inside the fence. Fencing has been added at that entrance—it is nearly flush with the sidewalk now, leaving almost no room for anyone to stand.

Non-police security guards were posted at points along the inside of the Gill Tract fence. 

The group chanted for about 10 minutes outside the Gill Tract and left sunflowers on top of the fence. The event, which started at about 5:15, was over by 6 p.m.

By pre-arrangement, many of the activists left to attend a rally at Oakland City Hall for Alan Blueford, a teenager shot and killed by an Oakland police officer May 6. 

University of California police arrested several people earlier in the day and issued citations to several others. 

At about 4 p.m., according to Mogulof, officers saw two people pacing the Gill Tract fence exterior and trying to access a utility box cover in the sidewalk after claiming the university was wasting water. They attempted to avoid detention by crossing back and forth across the street. University police detained and identified them.

Mogulof said one officer recognized them as having trespassed in the Gill Tract on May 12 and 13. Andrew S. Carrigan, 21, was arrested on a San Francisco Police Department warrant and on suspicion of obstructing a peace officer. Conner Horner, 18, was arrested on suspicion of falsely identifying himself as another person and obstructing a peace officer.

Police issued both men exclusion orders from university property per 626.6 PC.

Mogulof said university police also noticed a group that had set up camp in the southeast corner of the vacant lot near Monroe and 10th streets. Police detained four people (and their dogs) "who were sitting with significant personal property spread out around them."

Officers identified them as people who had trespassed inside the Gill Tract on May 11 and 12. Police said Kristopher R. Sullivan, 32, was trying to conceal a large machete; he was arrested in connection with the weapon and lodging.

The other three were cited and released on suspicion of lodging: Erin J. Simpson, 20; Lawrence A. Lattoure, 24; and Heather R. Rosenmund, 19.

UC issued all four people exclusion orders from university property.

The Occupy the Farm group will meet again at 3 p.m. Saturday, at Monroe Street near San Pablo (the future site of a proposed Whole Foods store and senior housing project), a site they are calling Albany Meadows.

Our original post about this event was published at 5:35 p.m. on Tuesday. It appears below. Click the "Keep me posted" button below for an update when we publish future stories on this topic. Read more on Albany Patch about the Gill Tract occupation.

About 75 people reportedly came together at the Albany Library and Community Center on Tuesday evening for a "re-convergence" meeting called by Occupy the Farm following a  along with 10 arrests later in the day. 

The group, perhaps up to 200 people, according to one attendee, marched along the westbound lanes of Marin Avenue to the after a short meeting. The group was set to leave Albany for Oakland to attend a rally for Alan Blueford

View "live tweets" from the event here. (You do not need a Twitter account to view the tweets.)

Several Twitter users have reported helicopters in the area, along with at least one arrest near the Gill Tract on Tuesday, as well.

Said Matt MacManes on Twitter not long before 5 p.m., there was a "UCPD 4-wheeler. One in cuffs, one laying down on sidewalk. Just south on San Pablo by entrance to UVA."

Albany Patch has a request in to the University of California for more information.

Some tweets from the beginning of the 5 p.m. Community Center discussion:

Susie Cagle"They think their fences can stop us. They think their arrests can stop us. They can't." #occupythefarm

Occupy Man JoseMSM helicopter flying over rally and #occupythefarm

Alyssa#Occupythefarm #OTF #OO the farm is a longterm project. Farm will grow stronger. arresting us won't stop us! Join us!

robertjmI hear the whirlybirds again. Is it bad traffic, or is OTF trying to squat on the Gill Tract again? #occupythefarm

Susie Cagle#occupythefarm convergence. Gopal: "This is a long term fight... We took that space & we can take it back whenever we want."

Read more live on Twitter here.

Click the "Keep me posted" button below for an update when we publish future stories on this topic. Read more on Albany Patch about the Gill Tract occupation.

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at albany@patch.com.

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