Occupy Oakland camp shut down by police

SAN FRANCISCO — Oakland police shut down the Occupy Oakland encampment in Frank Ogawa Plaza during an early-morning raid on Monday, reported the San Jose Mercury News. So far, the raid has been peaceful with few incidents.

MSNBC reported that the raid began before dawn, and police have made about 20 arrests since the sweep began.

According to Al-Jazeera, the police were clad in riot gear, but the protesters put up little resistance. Oakland police took down more than 100 tents and, once the plaza cleared, called the area a crime scene and told passersby to stay away.

More from GlobalPost: Occupy Oakland: Violence as police clash with protesters

This is the second time police have raided the Occupy Oakland camp, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The first raid last month turned violent and made international news. Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who has been highly criticized for her response to the protest, said the following about the shut down in a press conference Monday morning:

It was no longer about the abuses of the financial system, or foreclosures or the unemployed. The encampment became a place where we had repeated violence and, this week, a murder. We had to bring the camp to an end before more people were hurt.

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Occupy Wall Street protests across the US, from North Carolina to Albany to Portland have been shut down this weekend, dealing a detrimental blow to the overall movement against corruption in the American financial system, reported RT.

More from GlobalPost: Occupy Portland protesters clear out after standoff