Last week, several police arrived unexpectedly at the North Loop homeless encampment in downtown Minneapolis. They went tent to tent at this pre-dawn hour, waking up each camper and telling them to pack their things. Bulldozers were coming.
Law enforcement's previous attempt to clear this camp in January wasn't successful--and not just because of uncooperative campers. A well-organized group of homelessness activists are at the ready to stand firm between police and the tents.
Concluding that stand-off, the city backed down and left the camp alone for two more months (this being the window I had spent there). Following this, the campers knew an attempted clearing would happen again--just as they always know it will eventually occur at any of their spontaneous camps.
Yesterday I located a few of these individuals--whose stories I'll continue to gather and share with you--at their new, spontaneous tent communities around the city.