It wasn't evident by looking at Patch, a one-eyed homeless advocate, and his Chihuahua-mix dog Bandit, the lone guards of the Occupy Fresno camp on Monday morning, but after two nights of arrests by Fresno County sheriff's deputies, the movement appears to be growing.
While Patch and Bandit sat in front of a gazebo at Courthouse Park, surrounded by abandoned signs reading "Rage against the corporate machine," social media were buzzing with support for bigger overnight protests in the week ahead.
"Excuse me, is Occupy Fresno gone? They're still on Twitter," a college student asked Patch, who gives no other name.
"No, they're just taking showers and getting recharged. Everyone will be back tonight," he told him. "Police included."
When Occupy Fresno started a month ago, it didn't draw much attention. The city is home to a small, close-knit band of activists who've been protesting together since the days of the Vietnam War. Some are in their 70s. They were among the first to bring the national movement to Fresno.
They were joined by a handful of younger activists who started a social media campaign. The numbers started slowly growing, on some nights reaching more than 50. At the same time, the city started dismantling homeless encampments in the downtown area, with many of the displaced heading to the park where the members of Occupy Fresno would share food with them.
Patch became an overnight media spokesperson when he stood in front of a backhoe about to demolish his encampment. Soon he became Occupy Fresno's daytime guard.
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