Deputies Take Down Tents of OccupyMN Protesters

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Sheriff's deputies tore down several makeshift tents erected by Occupy Minnesota demonstrators on the plaza of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis but made no arrests.

Citing a right to shelter against the increasingly chilly nights, the anti-Wall Street protesters on Saturday put up several tents made of clear plastic despite a ban on structures on the plaza.

Ben Painter of Minneapolis, told Minnesota Public Radio he was sleeping in one tent when more than three dozen officers arrived around 1:30 a.m. Sunday to remove them. Painter says he and about 70 other protesters formed a circle around the tents, but the officers dragged them out of the way and took the tents down.

The county allows protesters to stay on the plaza all night, but tents are banned.

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