A short-lived protest encampment in front of San Francisco City Hall that was billed as a “sweeps-free sanctuary” was swept by police early Thursday, less than two days after it was set up.
At least 30 cops were on hand for the 2 a.m. sweep, along with park rangers and other city workers, video taken by an organizer shows.
Police were seen with riot helmets and batons strapped to their waists, leading away homeless people who had their belongings in carts. No property was confiscated, and no arrests were made, the protest’s organizers said. The video appeared to show that all the tents were taken down.
The encampment was erected Tuesday at 11 a.m. to protest the city’s aggressive efforts to remove tent camps from sidewalks and other public places following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Grants Pass case, which allowed for stricter enforcement of regulations against homeless people.
By 6 p.m. on Tuesday, there were 18 tents at the site, displaying messages such as “Where do we go?” and “Sweeps kill.” Organizers said 35 people were sleeping at the site — which had food, drinks, and tents on offer for the protesters — when police broke it up.
Lisa “Tiny” Gray-Garcia, one of the organizers, said in an interview Tuesday that despite the camp’s defiant “sweeps-free” title, there were no guarantees that authorities would spare it. She said the name made a point about how homeless people are forced to move along constantly.
“This is a lateral move, because we’ve been swept from everywhere else,” said Garcia, co-founder of Oakland-based anti-poverty organization POOR Magazine. “We’re trying to take back spaces that are public.”
Garcia, who has experienced homelessness, said the organizers are calling on city officials to meet with them to discuss “unhoused peoples’ solutions.” Among these are a permanent moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent; defunding CARE Courts, which allow family members and first responders to file petitions on behalf of adults whom they believe are incapable of caring for themselves; and creating permanent rent-free housing similar to the Oakland project Homefulness.
Abe Nova said he learned of the encampment Tuesday from a homeless woman who said he could get free food there.
“She just announced it, like, ‘Go to City Hall, they got tents and food,’” the 33-year-old said Tuesday at the encampment. “We were hungry.”
He stayed for the food and supplies, and organizers gave him a tent, Nova said.
Similar protest camps have been built in Oakland, Fresno, Vallejo, Los Angeles, and Seattle, organizers said.
Nova said he is infuriated by the city’s anti-homeless measures. He said he lost his phone and cash during sweeps, and employees from the Department of Public Works soak his belongings while spraying down sidewalks.
“That’s what kills me,” Nova said. “I have to worry — is the street going to get sprayed or something to make us move away?”
But Nova doesn’t want to sleep in homeless shelters, describing them as “scary.”
“They lock this big gate behind you, to ‘keep you safe,’” Nova said, motioning air quotes.
Melissa Leibman, 38, has been unhoused for 12 years in San Francisco and subjected to many sweeps, she said. She recalled one from around Christmas two years ago when she lost precious photos of her mother and siblings, as well as a generator she had bought with Covid stimulus checks.
“I’ll never get those back,” she said of her family photos. “They told us they were going to bag and tag. They never did.”
The Recreation and Parks Department confirmed that police and park rangers swept the encampment early Thursday.
“Our rangers were on site, providing support to SFPD,” said Parks Department spokesperson Daniel Montes.
The SFPD and Department of Public Works did not respond to requests for comment.