New restrictions for Minneapolis Occupy protesters

Protesters who have occupied a government plaza in Minneapolis for nearly a month in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement soon will face new restrictions.

Hennepin County officials said Wednesday they will begin winterizing the plaza between the county building and Minneapolis City Hall this Friday. They said protesters will have to consolidate their possessions and can't leave them unattended anymore or they'll be taken.

The number of portable toilets is being cut from seven to three, and starting Friday no more signs will be allowed.

County officials also said for the first time that they won't allow overnight sleeping once significant snow falls or the temperature falls below 25 degrees.

"We think that it's a violation of our rights to free speech and free assembly," said Nick Espinosa, one of the protest organizers. "You don't put a curfew on the right to assemble, and that's what they are trying to do on the plaza."

Espinosa said the crackdown on signage is "ridiculous." He said organizers were meeting to come up with some long-term strategies. Some have already agreed to occupy the home of a person who is facing foreclosure - an option that had been discussed before to help those in foreclosure as well as keep the protest going through Minnesota's brutal winter - but he said he imagines some people will chose to stay on the plaza.

The Minneapolis protest has been largely peaceful through its first 25 days.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)