A group of protesters say Charleston police kicked them out of the Lee Street Triangle, where they were protesting the removal of several benches, on Saturday morning.
City officials removed the seven benches on Wednesday, under the direction of Mayor Danny Jones, after they said residents complained about homeless people storing belongings and leaving trash.
Olivia "Olive" Bias, an organizer of the protest, said that several people, including both people who are homeless and people who have homes, began a demonstration Friday evening. She estimated that about 35 people in total were there for varying lengths of time. Several people stayed overnight.
Bias, who had left when protesters were removed, said police had been circling the area, and cursed at the protesters when they kicked them out.
She said the removal didn't occur until Saturday morning, after she had left and asked protesters to "hold down the fort" until she returned.
Maj. Jason Beckett, deputy chief of police, said the people were "asked to leave" because the city does not allow people to set up camp in public areas. He said he didn't immediately know which part of city code prohibits camping.
"We do not stop protests," he said. "We stop people from breaking the law."
He said the protesters were breaking the law by camping, writing on the sidewalk and trees with chalk and littering. He said he believed officers issued one citation for littering.
Bias said organizers had expected protesters would be removed, but held the protest anyway because they wanted to make a greater point.
She said "you removing the benches does not remove the problem."
Bias, who has been homeless but currently has a place to stay, said Jay's Homeless Coalition, a group that started to include homeless people in solving the homelessness problem, will be providing a hot meal at 5 p.m. at Davis Park on Sept. 18. The group is named for James Cook, whose body was found severely decomposed in a vacant home on Maryland Avenue in May.
"There's power in numbers," she said. "We can mobilize ourselves because we can't wait on the state to take care of us. It's literally lethal if we wait."
She said she has publicized the group through word of mouth, and also said more people can get involved by searching for the group on Facebook.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.