In response to Moms 4 Housing facing imminent eviction from a West Oakland home the organization has been squatting in since November, hundreds of protesters have taken to the house to support the group and defend them against police.
In a report from The Mercury News, the protests began Monday as police officers from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office took to the house to evict Moms 4 Housing, "a collective of unhoused and insecurely housed mothers, organizing to reclaim vacant homes from real estate speculators," according to the organization's Twitter account.
Advertisement
Protesters linked arms in front of the house to stop officers from entering. Others documented what was happening and shared videos and information via social media. Moms 4 Housing also documented some of the protests and shared video on its Twitter account.
\u201cCrowd shot: supporters of @moms4housing have basically shut down this entire block in West Oakland. \n\nThey\u2019re now chanting, \u201cBlack moms matter.\u201d\u201d
On Tuesday morning, several Moms 4 Housing members were arrested. Deputies also blocked off the streets around the house and boarded up the front door of the house before carrying out the eviction. Protesters have been present throughout the morning, and captured footage of Alameda sheriffs returning to the home wearing paramilitary gear, and armed with AR-15s.
Dominique Walker, a member of Moms 4 Housing, has since addressed the matter, and explained that sheriffs arrived while the mothers were separated. Walker was live on Democracy Now! and by the time she returned to the home, other members and protesters were being arrested.
\u201cThe armed sheriffs deputies in military fatigues with a TANK arrested #Moms4Housing leaders Misty and Tolani. We don\u2019t know where they are. Right now we\u2019re working on locating them.\u201d
