UC tree sitters are told to abandon their perch
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A judge has ordered tree-sitting protesters occupying a University of California oak grove to relinquish their perches or trade them for a jail cell.
The university plans to post notices warning protesters of the court order and its consequences, which could include fines of $1,000 and five-day jail sentences. The protesters object to the school’s plan to remove some of the oaks to make way for an athletic center.
On Monday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Richard Keller said the university had the right to protect its property and granted the school’s request to evict the protesters. The university had argued the tree sitters posed a safety and health hazard with their makeshift community above Memorial Stadium.
“There are limitations to free speech, and one of them is time, place and circumstance,” Keller said. “It’s not an absolute right.”
Several tree sitters said they would not comply.
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