Occupy Protesters Plead Not Guilty to Illegally Sheltering in Palm Desert Park

INDIO - Four people accused of camping in a Palm Desert park without a permit as part of an Occupy demonstration pleaded not guilty today to misdemeanor charges.

Mary Elizabeth Walker, 22, Dustin David Powell, 29, and Stephen Mark Finger, 58 -- all of Palm Desert -- along with Palm Springs resident Ryan Donald Cartwright, 21, pleaded not guilty to unlawful assembly during a hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Cartwright also pleaded not guilty to two counts of resisting arrest.

A fifth defendant, 27-year-old Jack Lee Noftsger III, of Palm Desert, is slated to be arraigned on a charge of unlawful assembly on Jan. 17, and his four co-defendants are due back in court that day for a pretrial hearing.

Charges were filed Wednesday. All of the defendants are free on their own recognizance.

The five were arrested with several others on Nov. 1 for allegedly camping illegally at Palm Desert's Civic Center Park. Members of the group had been in the park since Oct. 24, participating in the nationwide Occupy movement, intended to draw attention to what demonstrators argue is the growing gap between rich and poor.

No one else arrested during the Nov. 1 demonstration has been charged, according to jail and court records.

Walker, Powell, Finger, Cartwright and Noftsger are charged with ''willfully and unlawfully'' assembling ''together with one or more persons to do an unlawful act .. in a violent, boisterous and tumultuous manner,'' according to the criminal complaint.

''The charges of unlawful assembly would appear to be completely unfounded,'' Deputy Public Defender Roger Tansey, who is representing several of the defendants, told City News Service.

''After all, this country was founded upon dissent,'' he said. ''Whatever one thinks of their political views, I'm sure all right-thinking people can agree that the Palm Desert 5 are certainly proud followers of that good old American tradition of peacefully making your voice heard. Whether you agree with them or not, these kids represent some of the best of American values -- and these criminal charges, the worst.''

The defendants were arrested by deputies sent to the park to enforce the 11 p.m. curfew on Nov. 1, sheriff's Lt. Andrew Shouse said. The group was granted temporary use permits by the city over four days in the last week of October, which allowed them to stay overnight in the park.

The city declined to issue another permit at the end of the week, and sheriff's deputies asked the protesters to leave.

''Most of the subjects relocated to the sidewalk upon our arrival,'' Shouse said then. ''Seven subjects remained on the park property and were arrested.''

Two more people were arrested an hour later after they entered the park ''in defiance of officers who were securing the scene,'' Shouse said. Another woman was arrested later that night, he said.

Assistant City Attorney Robert Hargreaves has said the city supports the group's First Amendment rights, but could not allow the park to be used as a campground for an extended period of time.

''By providing Occupy Coachella Valley with a highly visible, dry, shaded space with 24-hour access to restrooms, the city accommodated the group's First Amendment rights while protecting public health and safety and the rights of our residents and visitors to continue using Civic Center Park,'' according to a city statement.