Occupy Indianapolis group ordered to remove tents, splinters into 2 groups

Occupy Indianapolis protesters were ordered Wednesday to clean up their camp on the Statehouse lawn by Thursday evening or face arrest while a group of protesters split from the main group.

Officials from the Indiana Department of Administration expressed concerns about the use of tents, gas canisters and open fires at the protest site. They also worried about safety and sanitation.

The Occupy protesters were told they could still stage their protests on the lawn.

They would not be allowed to camp there overnight or use tents and other equipment authorities were concerned about, however.

After the deadline for the protesters to remove their equipment passed, though, a few chairs and tables remained.

The Indiana Department of Administration agreed to let them keep these things at the protest site as long as they did not add any tents.

The Occupy Indianapolis protesters have had a mostly good relationship with authorities since the protest started about one month ago.

Meanwhile, the Occupy Indianapolis movement has fractured into two separate groups after a splinter group that runs the main Occupy Indianapolis Facebook page said it disagreed with the tactics used by the protesters on the statehouse lawn.

One group that has spent less time at the Occupy protest on the statehouse lawn has split from the group that has spent the most time at the lawn.

In a Facebook post Thursday, the Occupy Indianapolis group that runs the Facebook page said, “Due to recent events and ongoing issues with individuals on the lawn, it saddens us that we decided it was in the movement’s best interest to distance ourselves from the 24/7 occupation on the Statehouse lawn.”

The post indicated those who have spent the most time occupying the Statehouse lawn were giving more weight to the input of others who have spent a significant amount of time protesting and ignoring the input of others.

In a separate Facebook post, the same group said the Occupy group on the Statehouse lawn had designated leaders, in contradiction to what the Facebook group administrators called “the Occupy movement’s goal to be a leaderless movement.”

Additionally, the splinter group accused the original group of “using cash donations for personal gain,” saying that the accused leaders of the group have created a trust with “no oversight or accountability.”

The splinter group formally renounced the original group but said they wish the original group well, because “we recognize that despite their struggles and poor choices, they are part of the 99 percent.”

The splinter group created a new Facebook page and a new name for its version of the Occupy protest, calling itself “IndyOWS,” which stands for “Indy Occupy Wall Street.”

— Zach Ammerman