CHAPEL HILL - Chaos erupted (or nearly so) on Franklin Street Sunday afternoon as police with automatic weapons and riot gear faced off against a group of protestors who’d occupied the former University Chrysler building on Saturday night.

Click here to listen to protestors across the street, shortly after the incident broke.


That was the scene on the 400 block of West Franklin Street, shortly after police forcibly cleared about eight protestors who’d squatted in the building overnight following the Carrboro Anarchist Book Fair. Some of the protestors had come over from the Occupy Chapel Hill movement at Peace and Justice Plaza, though Sunday’s occupation wasn’t officially related to that movement.

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton happened to have been on the scene Sunday afternoon.

Click here to listen to his description of how the incident developed.


Observers described SWAT team members with guns drawn ordering people to get down. Chapel Hill police entered the building and removed the occupiers, aided by Chapel Hill Fire Department officials and Carrboro Police officers.

There's still some dispute over how it all transpired, but Chilton says the raid was not without any warning.

"Chapel Hill Police had been meeting with protestors over the course of the last day or so...(discussing) what NC law requires regarding the difference betweeen public and private property," he says. "I understand the Chapel Hill Police Chief himself (Chris Blue) went over and met with the protestors in the building."

Chief Blue has not been available to confirm that report.

Watch a YouTube video of the incident.


About eight protestors were arrested and driven from the scene in a Chapel Hill Transit bus, while more than 30 stood across the street, chanting and shouting angrily at police.

WCHL’s Aaron Keck spoke to one of those protestors, a man named Jose Grigoria Hernandez. Here’s what they had to say, in the middle of the fray.


Sunday’s incident was one of many across the country in which Occupy and Occupy-affiliated protestors had heated confrontations with police. Fortunately in Chapel Hill, at least, there didn’t appear to be any violence resulting in injuries, in spite of the anger and the presence of weapons.

"It all stayed fairly subdued," says Mayor Chilton. "None of the people coming out of the building had any apparent injuries...I didn't see any black eyes or blood or anything like that, so it all seems to have gone fairly calmly considering the situation."

Below is an official statement from Chapel Hill Police, received at 7:25 p.m.:

"The Chapel Hill Police Department received information that attendees from a local anarchist book fair were attempting to align themselves with the Occupy Movement.  Officers learned that approximately 70 individuals involved broke into the former Yates Motor Company building located at 419 West Franklin Street.  In an effort to avoid a confrontation with a large group and to minimize the risk of injury to the public, officers, and property, the Chapel Hill Police monitored the group overnight. 

"Chapel Hill Police officers gathered additional information and verified the presence of known anarchist members in the group.  Officers also learned that strategies used by anarchists in other communities included barricading themselves in buildings, placing traps in buildings, and otherwise destroying property.  The group in the Yates building used large banners to obscure the windows to the business and strategically placed members on the roof as look-outs.

"The Chapel Hill Police Department waited until the crowd had reached a manageable size, improving officers’ ability to ensure the safety of all involved.  Based on the known risks associated with these groups and the tactics employed in the Yates building, the Chapel Hill Police Department utilized its tactical team to secure and enter the building and remove the illegal occupants.  8 people were located inside the building, were arrested for misdemeanor breaking and entering, and transported to appear before the magistrate in Hillsborough.

"Further updates with be made as more information becomes available."

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt released the following statement:

"For generations, the Town of Chapel Hill has been home to important activist movements, including the Civil Rights struggles of the 60s, the fight against the Speaker Ban, various war protests, and the fights for equal rights for women and LGBT people.

The Town's response to the citizen activist movement of our day, the Occupy movement, continues in that tradition -- one marked by our community's efforts toward facilitating the ability of citizens to exercise their constitutional rights of speech and assembly. My office, the Town Manager’s Office, and our Police Department have worked diligently to maintain open communication with Occupy Chapel Hill. Our work together included ensuring a safe Halloween for the Occupiers and ongoing access to public restroom facilities; and in contrast to Occupy participants in other cities, Occupy Chapel Hill has not been subject to twenty-four hour surveillance by law enforcement.

Along with facilitating citizens' ability to exercise their constitutional rights, it is also a critical responsibility of all levels of government in a free society to respond when rights of others are being impinged upon. This weekend a group of protesters broke into and entered a privately owned building in downtown Chapel Hill. They illegally held the building for more than eighteen hours. These actions were clear violations of state law. In these instances, the Town will respond in accord with the oath every elected official and law enforcement officer takes -- to uphold the laws of our state and nation. The Town has an obligation to the property owners, and the Town will enforce those rights, just as it will work to continue facilitating the exercise of free speech.

It is not clear to us at this time what connection exists between these protesters and Occupy Chapel Hill, if there even is one. Nonetheless, it is my expectation, looking forward, that Occupy Chapel Hill and the Town will maintain an open and cooperative relationship. The Occupy movement carries an important message for our town, our state and our country. I suspect it will be heard more clearly from Peace and Justice Plaza than from the Orange County jail."