Homeless Sweeps Class Action Moves Forward After First Hearing at Federal Court!!

Today, October 12 2016, around one hundred people – a great many of whom were homeless people impacted by the sweeps – went to federal court to defend our constitutional rights. We gathered in front of the federal courthouse to rally, eat breakfast and drink coffee before entering the court for the hearing. This rally and hearing was heavily attended by media covering this class action suit as the top story.

Lead Plaintiffs in the case told the crowd of how they have had all their belongings taken by police without warning and how they have been continually harassed by police threatening to take all they own. Homeless people who came to this hearing were running off little sleep this morning after a night of continual rain and few with tents to stay dry. In spite of the rain people came to this monumental federal hearing en mass ready to stand together for our rights!

In the hearing Judge Shaffer made a clear path for the case to move forward in an expedient manner. The attorney for the case, Jason Flores-Williams, stand strong for the urgent and immediate need for this case to move forward as the constitutional violations seen in this case are continuing to rob people of their rights and property.

The next hearing for this case will be on October 20. This will again be a procedural hearing but in not too long there will be the vital hearing before Judge Martinez regarding class certification. Stay tuned for updates on this case as we continue to stand together for our rights!