PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Demonstrators who camped out overnight in downtown Portland in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement say they’re determined to stay despite requests from authorities to make way for an estimated 10,000 marathon runners.
The Oregonian reported that an estimated 600 protesters camped out overnight in two city park blocks (http://bit.ly/okyetI) flanked by government high-rises and courthouse buildings.
The Portland Marathon is scheduled Sunday, starting at the park, according to the marathon map. Protesters told the paper they feel solidarity with the runners and plan to settle into one of the park blocks indefinitely.
Police said arrests to break up the crowd would be a last resort. Overnight, officers arrested two people for spray painting protest slogans on buildings and a police car.