Little Rock police have given the Occupy Little Rock protesters until 6 p.m. Tuesday to make a decision on moving their camp away from Clinton Presidential Library to a nearby location.
Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas said at a Monday afternoon news conference that the group could stay as long as it wanted at the city-owned lot at Fourth and Ferry streets but that it couldn't stay at its current location.
Thomas cited two city ordinances that prohibits use of the facility without a permit and camping at a city park.
The new site is barricaded, and has portable toilets and a dumpster which will be maintained by the city at no extra expense of city funds. Thomas also said the new location would also be more economical for police to monitor than the Clinton park because it lies on the officers' current patrol route.
"We are prepared to provide police coverage of this parking lot and monitor it to ensure the safety of anybody who is going to be on the lot during an extended period of time," Thomas said.
A makeshift camp of more than 20 people has been at the Clinton center since Friday. A Facebook post on Occupy Arkansas' wall has urged supporters to go to the Clinton center to be a legal observer to the situation, claiming the Little Rock Police Department has threatened to remove the group.
Occupier Aaron Stewart of Little Rock said, "If they do try to come and say 'you guys have to leave,' we may not decide to leave ... If we're going to stand up and exercise our rights and [the police] are going to arrest us for it, that's just furthering our message."
Thomas said the violation of the ordinances could warrant a citation of up to $1,000.
Another occupier, Adam Lansky of Little Rock, added that should they need to move from the Clinton center, that doesn't mean they won't occupy another location. "We need to be fluid. I'm thinking just because we don't have a piece of land does not mean we can't continue in the streets," he said.
The group did not have a permit to camp at the Clinton center site, and Mayor Mark Stodola told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette over the weekend that the location "is not typically the type of park that you would provide a permit for" camping.
Lansky emphasized that they are "not camping; we're occupying." He added that some people choose to stay overnight, but most people have jobs or are students so they come to the site when they have time.
Thomas said he hopes the group will take advantage of the new site being provided to them. "I think in a fundamental sense of fairness, we've tried to come up with an alternative that is reasonable, practical, easy to use, and ... about 300 yards from where they're currently encamped."
Some occupiers expressed concerns at a meeting following the conference about the request to move, such as less visibility to the public. Members of the group provided no comment as to whether they would decide to move their site on Tuesday.
So far, there have been no confrontations between the protesters and the police department as there have been in other cities.