MINNEAPOLIS -- The protesters of the Occupy Minnesota movements and Hennepin County Board of Commissioners faced off on Tuesday.
By a unanimous vote, the commissioners enacted some rules for the Hennepin County Government Plaza that will go into place on Monday.
First and foremost, the protestors will not be able to sleep overnight on the government plaza anymore.
Secondly, no personal items can be stored on the plaza or left unattended and if they are they will be removed.
The rules being decided caused quite the reaction among the protester.
"I never thought this board would become the oppressor; in a lot of ways you have become the faces of the oppression and that is hard to believe," said an Occupy member who went by the name Steven.
Commissioners say they have wrangled during the last month over what to do with the Occupy protesters.
The county says never before has a protest become one like this where essentially people were living on public property; storing clothing, food and bedding there.
As winter pushed forward the time came to act.
"I think the county has bent over backwards to allow you to do what you all want to do and I think the taxpayers have been generous to allow you to do what you want to do," County Commissioner Jeff Johnson said.
Come Monday, no more sleepovers and at least one Occupier said that isn't acceptable.
"This movemement enjoys a large appreciation of the general public and there may only be 100 people down at the plaza but thousands agree with us and if they see our rights infringed on you will see a couple thousand in the street like you had in Oakland," the protestor told the board.
(Copyright 2011 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)