Occupy Oakland Weekly March Headed to Cal

Occupy Oakland march turned into a college all-nighter

The weekly Occupy Oakland anti-police march headed to Berkeley Saturday night to meet with other Occupy demonstrators holding a conference at the University of California at Berkeley campus this weekend.

  Around 100 protesters gathered in Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza at around 9 p.m. and headed to Berkeley via Telegraph Avenue, according to protesters streaming video of the march over the Internet.

  There was minimal police presence around the march, and protesters blocked traffic freely on their way to Berkeley. No incidents of violence or vandalism were reported, despite a few arguments with bystanders along the way up Telegraph Avenue.

  Once arriving in Berkeley, protesters stopped briefly by the university's Sproul Hall to confront UC police there.

  Protesters then moved on to the site of the conference, UC Berkeley's International House at 2299 Piedmont Ave.

  The "Occupy the Truth" conference began Friday with a panel discussion between Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern and retired U.S. Army Col. Anne Wright.

  The conference is intended to give Occupy activists from Berkeley and Oakland a space to brainstorm ideas and reflect on strategy, organizers said.

  When Occupy Oakland protesters arrived, several tents had been set up in the lawn in front of International House, and the march from Oakland merged with a small crowd already gathered in front of the International House.

  Several university police stood inside of the building's doorway, but did not confront the crowd on the front steps.

  One Occupy Cal protester announced to the arriving crowd that they were invited to spend the night on the front lawn of International House.

  The Occupy the Truth conference is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Sunday for its final day.

  An anti-police march has been held weekly in Oakland since Jan. 8, when protesters organized the recurring event in response to what they call continued harassment and brutality by the Oakland police.

  In recent weeks the march has spread to other cities in the Bay Area, as a similar march was held last Friday in San Francisco.

  Two arrests were reported at last Saturday's march in Oakland following a confrontation around a traffic stop by the California Highway Patrol.

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