Los Angeles set to evict anti-Wall Street protesters

LOS ANGELES, Nov 28: (AP): Hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters in Los Angeles were bracing Monday for eviction from a park near city hall, with some packing up to avoid confrontation and others digging in to resist police. But hours before a midnight park closure, LA's mayor said campers would be given "ample time" to leave and appealed to them to go peacefully, as the city seeks to avoid clashes with riot police seen elsewhere in recent weeks. While the park was ordered closed from midnight (0800 GMT), police "will allow campers ample time to remove their belongings peacefully and without disruption," mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement Sunday evening. "I am proud of the fact that this has been a peaceful, non-violent protest ... because we have done things differently in Los Angeles. I trust that we can manage the closure of City Hall Park in the same spirit of cooperation." The deadline has now passed without police charging the campers. The movement was nearing a critical point in time after Villaraigosa on Friday ordered the protesters to leave the spot where they have been rallying since October, citing public safety concerns. The group called a rally in front of city hall late Sunday to send a message to officials-and by mid evening there were some 1,000 protestors and 500 tents, according to an AFP correspondent. A group of 25 protesters from the Occupy San Diego camp came today in support of the LA movement. "We stand in solidarity with OLA. We came to make a statement because we need change," Claudia Acevedo, 44, told AFP. Asked if she was ready to be arrested, she said it was "part of the civic protest movement .. we know it can happen and we have to make change peacefully because anyone can lose their home here, the economy is very fragile."