LA protesters defy eviction deadline

Hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters defied a deadline to leave a park near Los Angeles city hall Monday, remaining in place after a night of stalemate with only a few people arrested.Five people were detained as officers cleared the streets around the park to allow morning rush-hour traffic to flow freely, a spokesman said, but the two-month old encampment stayed.It is not our intent to clear the park at this time, an officer told protesters over a loudspeaker. It is only our intent to clear the street. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.Right now we have no plans to go into the encampment, said Los Angeles Police Department commander Andy Smith.Hours before the midnight deadline, LAs mayor had said campers would be given enough time to leave and appealed to them to go peacefully, as the city seeks to avoid clashes with riot police seen elsewhere in recent weeks.While the park was ordered closed from midnight (0800 GMT), police were to allow campers ample time to remove their belongings peacefully and without disruption, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement Sunday evening.I am proud of the fact that this has been a peaceful, non-violent protest... because we have done things differently in Los Angeles. I trust that we can manage the closure of City Hall Park in the same spirit of cooperation.The Occupy Los Angeles movement was nearing a critical point in time after Villaraigosa on Friday ordered the protesters to leave the spot where they have been rallying since the start of October, citing public safety concerns.The group called a rally in front of city hall late Sunday -- and by early Monday there were more than 1,000 protesters -- organizers said 3,000 -- and some 500 tents.A group of 25 protesters from the Occupy San Diego camp came up to support the LA movement. We stand in solidarity with OLA. We came to make a statement because we need change, Claudia Acevedo, 44, said.The mayor announced a series of measures to help the protesters close up their camp, including an extra 50 beds for homeless demonstrators at local shelters, and parking spaces nearby for them to load up their belongings.