The folks behind Occupy Graham will spend the remainder of their protest collecting food items to stock a planned pop-up food pantry.
While the Occupy Graham protests were born out of a sense of outrage at the Capitol Hill riots that resulted in the deaths of five people, organizers later wanted to do something to have a positive impact on the Alamance County community. Organizers decided a food pantry has the potential to be the most impactful. We have stated that we are a grassroots network whose intent is to provide community relief through mutual aid through community support and direct action, said Occupy Graham organizer Carey Kirk Griffin. Part of that is addressing the food insecurity that is happening in Alamance County right now. We already have issues on any normal day but with the COVID crisis it is compounded.
“We truly want the ACLU’s feedback on this,” Raleigh lawyer Anthony Biller told the Graham City Council at its January meeting.
Elizabeth Haddix, managing attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law represented the Alamance NAACP in its successful suit against the city over its old restrictive protest rules. She told the Times-News the NAACP’s legal team contacted the city’s lawyers to tell them the new rules were also unconstitutional, giving the city “a chance to fix it first.”
The new ordinance, which would also apply to parades and big outdoor events on city property, would require a permit for a gathering of 10 or more people or a parade of three or more vehicles. It would also designate a “free-speech zone” on the lawn of City Hall where groups of 25 or fewer could demonstrate without a permit, and would recognize similar zones created in town by other governments like Alamance County.
A week to the day after Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill at the behest of sitting President Donald Trump, Occupy Graham, a new local grassroots group, marched to the Graham offices of federal District 13 Rep. Ted Budd.
Wednesday s march was to signify to Budd their displeasure with his decision to vote against certification of the recent presidential election. Around two dozen people marched to Budd s offices to vocalize a series of demands which included the immediate removal of Trump from office, the arrest of those individuals who took part in last Wednesday s Capitol Hill march and the resignation of Budd, among others.
North Carolina Congressman Ted Budd the focus of Occupy Graham s protest Share Updated: 11:33 PM EST Jan 13, 2021 Share Updated: 11:33 PM EST Jan 13, 2021
Hide Transcript
Show Transcript PROTESTERS TOOK TO THE STREETS IN GRAHAM TONIGHT ANGRY AT A LOCAL CONGRESSMAN FOR VOTING AGAINST CERTIFYING THE ELECTIO WXII’S JUSTIN SHRAIR WAS THERE AND HAS THEIR MESSAGE FROM ALAMANCE COUNT THESE PROTESTERS ARE PART OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED OCCUPY GRAHAM. ON WEDNESDAY THEY MARCHED TO REPRESENTATIVE TED BUDD’S OFFICE TO DEMAND THAT HE STEP DOWN. IN ALAMANCE COUNTY, PROTESTERS FROM OCCUPY GRAHAM WANTED TO MAKE SURE REPRESENTATIVE TED BUDD HEARD THEM LOUD AND CLEAR WE ASK THAT HE BE REMOVED OR RESIGNED. AFTER THE ATTACK ON THE CAPITOL HE STILL DECIDED TO NOT CERTIFY PRESIDENT ELECT BIDEN’S PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIO REPORTER: PROTESTERS WENT DIRECTLY TO HIS OFFICE IN GRAHAM, CHANTING AND HOLDING SIGNS LIKE TED SAID YOUR VOTE DID NOT COUNT. REPORTER: WHAT HAP
As fallout from the Jan. 6 march on Capitol Hill continues to reverberate, its impacts are beginning to manifest in small towns.
In Graham, the Jan. 6 protest is directly responsible for the creation of a new activist group, Occupy Graham, which is planning a 5 p.m. march on Wednesday. A grassroots network in Graham, NC whose mission is to provide community relief based on the principles of solidarity, mutual aid and direct action, reads text from the group s Instagram page.
Occupy Graham began protesting late last week at Wyatt Outlaw Park. The group intends to gather at Wyatt Outlaw Park, from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., every day until inauguration day. This coming Wednesday, the group intends to start a half-hour sooner to accommodate a march from Wyatt Outlaw Park to Rep. Ted Budd s Graham office. The march, according to information provided by the group, is to criticize the lawmaker s decision to vote against Joe Biden s presidential certification.