Early this morning, US Marshals and MPD officers descended upon the Olive Branch Community's house at 1006 M Street, NW, to evict the residents of the building. The Marshals searched the building and removed some of the personal property belonging to Olive Branch residents. One resident described the eviction process as "political oppression."
At shortly before 9:00 this morning, four US Marshals, along with a few Metropolitan Police Department officers, descended upon the Olive Branch Community's house at 1006 M Street, NW, to evict the residents of the building. The Marshals pounded on the front door to announce their arrival, but apparently had a key to the building.
Many of the residents were still sleeping when the Marshals entered the building. One resident, Marlon, said he was "awoken at about 9:00 in the morning to a US Marshal with this big old shotgun, [who] walked right in my room and said, 'US Marshals, freeze! Put your hands where I can see them,' which we were told was standard procedure...."
The eviction seems to be anything but standard. According to Bork, a long-time resident of the Olive Branch, "This eviction is unusual in many of its aspects. We are people that help the homeless, and we also help people that are in the process of being gentrified, so we have been present during many evictions. They do not normally come in with guns loaded and cocked and ready. They don't normally have a canine on standby to sic upon us. Those are both very unusual aspects of this eviction, which goes hand in hand with the unusual aspects of the way that the house inspection went on. It goes along with the mayor's intervention in the process by having sent them, by having sent a representative to the first housing inspection. This is political oppression"
The Olive Branch residents were forced to go outside, many of them in bare feet and pajamas. They were asked to show identification, but most refused. An officer took digital photos of everyone as they left the building.
While the residents waited outside, officers made sure no one remained inside. Then the Marshals searched the building, taking little care with the personal property that was inside. Many items were simply dumped on the floor, including files and other personal papers. The Marshals took a few boxes out of the building but refused to say what they were taking, and would not give a receipt for the items, even after a request from Olive Branch's lawyer. One resident believes he saw computer disks among the items taken.
The Marshals did not present a search warrant for the property, although at least one Marshal claimed that they did have one. An eviction order does not give them the right to go through personal property or remove anything from the premises.
According to Lieutenant Michael Smith of the MPD, all that was removed from the building was a box of DC and Virginia tags (license plates), which he says are government property. When asked if there was a warrant, he responded, "No, they had an eviction notice, and the tags were in plain view." He was not present when the eviction actually took place.
After the Marshals finished searching the building, residents were allowed back inside for five minutes to grab whatever personal items they could. While the residents were inside, police searched through the back packs and other possessions that had been brought outside when the residents first left the building. Movers carried most of the furniture and other items out to the sidewalk, but some items were still in the building after the movers finished, including food, personal papers, and mementos that residents were unable to retrieve. They have been told that if they try to go back in the building, they will be charged with trespassing.
The US Marshals left the property soon after the actual eviction took place, leaving MPD officers to guard the building until it could be boarded up. According to Marlon, "we overheard them say that they want this place to be boarded up extra securely so that nobody can ever get back in, because she [the property manager] expects that we're going to try to reoccupy the place"
The Olive Branch had originally been given 60 days notice to vacate the building, which was scheduled to end on August 12th. They were preparing to leave on that day, but last week they were told that the 60 days notice didn't apply to their situation and isn't legally binding, and that they could be evicted at any time.
Olive Branch Community members have formed an organization called Mayday DC to show their opposition to Mayor Anthony Williams and his housing policies. They will hold a rally in front of City Hall on Friday, August 9, at 9:00 am, to oppose the Olive Branch eviction and draw attention to housing and gentrification issues in DC.
Bork described the Olive Branch eviction as "a factor of the mayor's continuing effort to hide what he does in the political arena regarding the homeless, regarding gentrification, how he supports the rich against the poor. And we're going to fight it."
>From DC Indymedia:
http://dc.indymedia.org/