St. Louis mayor says times up for Occupy protest

ST. LOUIS (AP) - The mayor of St. Louis says he wants Occupy St. Louis protesters to prepare to leave the downtown park where they've been camped out for weeks.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that (http://bit.ly/t6o1nt) Mayor Francis Slay warned the protesters Friday in a blog post that they're breaking the law and need to prepare to leave Kiener Plaza.

The city has left the protesters alone. But they say preparations are under way for the Salvation Army's annual tree-lighting starting, and Macy's Holiday Festival of Lights, and they can't continue to let the protesters monopolize half of the plaza.

Several demonstrators said Friday they'll risk arrest to remain in the plaza. Others said they thought the mayor's decision was disappointing, but they could not risk arrest and would reluctantly depart if asked.


Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com