Evicted protestors plan to ring Statehouse in future demonstration
Amid the pleasant weather, a bride-to-be posed for portraits, a family picnicked under the shade of magnolias and fir trees and a couple strolled past holding hands.
Notably absent, though, were the impassioned chants, worn-in encampment and passing honks that had come to define the grounds during Occupy Columbia's weeks-long protest there.
For now, the group sits dormant during what it described on its Twitter page as a "holiday hiatus."
The break follows the approval of new rules by the state's Budget and Control Board that prohibit camping at the Statehouse, effectively evicting the group once more and ending a back-and-forth legal battle with Gov. Nikki Haley that began with the arrest of 19 protesters on Nov. 16 last year.
But during their newfound downtime, the protesters are making plans for the coming weeks.
Most touted is their upcoming "Critical Mass" demonstration, slated for the morning of next Saturday, in which the occupiers plan to ring the building with yellow crime scene tape.
"Now, you may be wondering: What is a guy like me doing with a roll of 1,000 feet of caution tape?" asked Bradley Powell of Lexington on a video Occupy Columbia produced to promote the event, roll in hand.
The answer, said a narrator later in the clip: "If enough of us show up, we can surround the Statehouse with this tape."
They also plan to make an event of the opening session of the state legislature when it reconvenes on Tuesday at noon.
It's all part of an effort, the group said on their website Sunday, "to demonstrate to our elected officials that we will not go away until they start to fix South Carolina's problems."
In the longer term, members of the group plan to reestablish an encampment off the Statehouse grounds to highlight the group's pet issues.
Among the options discussed at a general gssembly meeting Friday evening are setting up camp at the Capital City Stadium, the proposed site of a new Walmart store, or in foreclosed homes in the area.
But for now, the Statehouse grounds – and Occupy Columbia – sit unusually silent.