Occupy L.A. Protesters Will Not Back Down

Photo by STERLINGDAVISPHOTO via the LAist Featured Photos pool

Occupy protesters and followers are questioning whether or not Los Angeles will face similar rioting as the Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Oakland movements.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has supported the movement from day one, and at least one other councilman - Bill Rosendahl - are losing patience and feel that the time has come for occupiers to pack up camp and create a new tent city elsewhere. Will occupiers disperse? Survey says: Not likely.

CBS LA's Serene Branson visited Occupy L.A. on Wednesday to investigate the possibility of an early end to the campground at City Hall, which protesters have said will last through December. Branson reported that the crowd is on high alert and that "tensions ran high." Judging from her interviews with protesters, they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

One protester said, “They can try to shut us down until the cows come home. We’re just going to come back stronger.”

Another occupier proclaimed, "We won’t be daunted. We’re just going to keep coming back and coming back…like Chinese water torture.”

City officials are concerned about the condition of the City Hall lawn. Villaraigosa said in a statement, "The lawn is dead, our sprinklers aren’t working…our trees are without water. The protesters must respect city laws and regulations, and while they have been allowed to camp on City Hall lawns, that cannot continue indefinitely.”

But organizers reiterated that the City Hall lawn has little to do with their fight. “We’ve had enough, and we are tired of what is being done from the top down," said a protestor.

Alex Everett, a 26-year-old protester who has been camped out at City Hall for two weeks, believes many protesters will not leave without a fight. He noted that, should police intervene, "it will be violent," reports L.A. Now.