Occupy protesters vacate Las Vegas camp

The tents are gone. So are the portable toilets.

The tiny parking lot tucked away on Paradise Road near the airport was at the center of controversy when Clark County officials allowed Occupy Las Vegas protesters to camp there.

They called it Area 99. It was a place for supporters in the movement to voice their opinions about corporate greed and influence in politics.

Then the homeless came, and the occupation site seemed to transform into an extension of social services as the protesters tried to connect the poor with resources in between camp meetings about foreclosures, unemployment and the 99 percent.

Then most of the protesters left.

Police and paramedics began visiting more frequently to check on the welfare of certain campers with what appeared to be mental health issues. Internal quarrels among protesters threatened to split up the group, and another faction of the movement was created.

Now the parking lot is nearly empty.

The local chapter of the Occupy Wall Street movement kept its word and vacated the area Monday afternoon, a condition of the agreement with the county.

The county permit expired at 5 p.m. The group of 30 or so counted down the time and joked that they were trespassing once the time was up.

One police officer drove up in a cruiser to check on the status of the cleanup. He didn't arrest anyone at the site. He was just monitoring.

The final moments of the occupation were a tearful occasion for some as they packed up their belongings and said their goodbyes. Some had no idea where they would sleep that night.

"It's kind of sad," said Liza, a homeless woman who joined the movement once she moved to the campsite in December. "This wasn't just a place to go, it was somewhere to stay. Now you take what you can carry. Keep it light. Keep it moving."

Another woman, Rose, said she was "ashamed of city and county officials for not stepping up to the plate in this grand experiment."

County officials granted a one-month permit to the group in October.

County management signed off on an additional 90 days in November, one day after 21 protesters were arrested for stopping traffic on northbound Las Vegas Boulevard in front of the federal courthouse.

County commissioners expressed their disappointment about the arrests and questioned extending the permit.

Trash bags, brooms, cinder blocks and boxes littered the area Monday afternoon. A few tents remained. Loud music played as people cleaned up the area. The soundtrack for an occupation cleanup included Tom Petty and the politically charged Rage Against the Machine.

Anthony Goodley, 45, lost his job as a cabdriver three years ago when the recession hit. He joined protesters about a month ago "partially for a place to stay."

"I kinda think when we leave here, I'm afraid we'll scatter," said Goodley, who planned to leave Las Vegas for Wyoming.

Other protesters alluded to a handful of new occupation sites scattered throughout the city, but they didn't want to give away any locations

At the final group meeting on site, people choked back tears, discussed what was ahead for the movement as the presidential election nears and talked about setting aside their differences.

They made clear that while the occupation site might be gone, they're not done protesting.

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@ reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.

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Comments

Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

1. Frank.Pelteson Feb. 22, 2012 | 9:33 a.m. Report Abuse

   The fellow with the non de plume "Moist and Meaty" appears to have severe psychological difficulties. He doesn't seem to understand that George Soros, the billionaire super-capitalist, has something to gain from funding the tens of thousands of "Occupy Wall Street" encampments all over the United States that appear to attack capitalists like himself. Soros appears to be funding his supposed enemies. Moist and Meaty has no knowledge of the Marxian Dialectic of Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis. He cannot see that Soros is the puppeteer who funds a mock battle between himself and the Occupy movement in order to gain the synthesis of the destruction of the Middle Class that has made America great. I once more refer this "Moist and Meaty" character to the reference I made before: http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php?option=com_cgcs&view=cgcs&q=Soros

2. Moist & Meaty Feb. 21, 2012 | 6:50 p.m. Report Abuse

   AWOOOGAH!!! Conservatives Start To Sound The Alarm Over Rick Santorum’s Extremism
   
   Republicans are staring down the increasingly real possibility that Rick Santorum could snatch the presidential nomination away from Mitt Romney and with it any idea that they could mount serious opposition to President Obama in the fall.
   
   As a result, many have started to hit the panic button, and they’re doing so in a way you probably wouldn’t have expected from the GOP, which still counts evangelicals among its strongest and most reliable base vote. Nevertheless, the freakout is evident from the Romney-allied Drudge Report homepage right through to radio host Laura Ingraham’s national airwaves.
   
   Rick Santorum, conservatives and his opponents started to say Tuesday, is just too dang extreme.
   
   http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/aooogah-conservatives-start-to-sound-the-alarm-over-rick-santorums-extremism.php?ref=fpa

3. Alvinjh Feb. 21, 2012 | 4:06 p.m. Report Abuse

   ..ah..the shock troops got tired and went home and were replaced by street people who couldn't contain their composure and pretend to have a cause... this is the face of the extreme left. No goals, no ambitions, no plans...just anarchy and hubris.

4. EngineerChris Feb. 21, 2012 | 11:36 a.m. Report Abuse

   If the occupy people here and elsewhere really wanted to make a statement they should have camped outside the White House in Washington DC so their president could see and hear them; they are wasting their time protesting elsewhere - we cannot do anything about their situation.

5. Victim of Metro Feb. 21, 2012 | 10:44 a.m. Report Abuse

   I wonder if they all left and went to work? Have a sneaky feeling that did not happen.

6. flame872 Feb. 21, 2012 | 10:07 a.m. Report Abuse

   It's about time those protesters left, the whole country should do that.

7. breaking news Feb. 21, 2012 | 9:59 a.m. Report Abuse

   From what I've gather from coverage of the Occupy Oakland, $20,000 in funding came from the Occupy Wall Street group and that funding was rumoured to come from unions. The $20,000 was to be used for "get out of jail" passes and other such essentials. What blew peoples minds was that OO deposited the $20,000 check into Wells Fargo Bank...the very same bank and building they had protested against and vandalized the day before. I guess the OLV group didn't get any love from New York in the form of a check.

8. Arras Feb. 21, 2012 | 9:41 a.m. Report Abuse

   This is what Occupy Las Vegas put on their website in their "About Us" section:
   
   "The purpose of the Occupy Movement is to
   GET IN THE FACE OF THE ONE PERCENT
   and bring a just end to their crimes against humanity and the planet."
   
   What a crock. The premise of going after hard-working successful Americans was just plain dumb. Envy and jealousy are two ugly traits that aren't embraceable. You don't pick and base a movement around the most selfish characteristics know to man and expect a passionate response from the American people. In the end, they were in their own little world there in those tents. It's where selfishness belongs.

9. Ronald.Greer Feb. 21, 2012 | 9:19 a.m. Report Abuse

   One joined as a homeless person and another was there because they needed a place to stay. This is not a political protest. It was a homeless camp, nothing more and nothing less. It is about time it was closed down. Rather than try to get jobs, they let the 99% work and support their homeless camp. Good riddence

10. Blak Feb. 21, 2012 | 9:13 a.m. Report Abuse

    I knew something was up when I landed on Friday at McCarran. There was no longer that foul stench in the air. The only movement this idiotic group performed effectively was in the port-o-potty!

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