Police clad in riot gear from the National Park Service showed up to McPherson Square between 5 and 6 am ET. They arrived to make sure the occupiers were “in compliance” with the “no camping” rule for the park. They conducted an inspection of tents and seized any camping gear or sleeping materials they thought could be or were used to violate the rule.

While President Obama has spent weeks crisscrossing the country publicly promoting his American Jobs Act, ironically in Washington his administration has been focused on lobbying Congress to approve a package of job-killing free trade deals. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the NAFTA-style South Korea Free Trade deal could cost America roughly 159,000 jobs while Colombia would export another 54,000.

As a complement (hopefully) to Jane’s and Kevin’s fine coverage of the October2011 and related actions in Washington DC, I thought I’d share a few (overexposed, smartphone) pics to illustrate life in Freedom Plaza.

I am in Freedom Plaza. The sun has set. An evening program is happening. Comedian Lee Camp is on the stage making jokes about Afghanistan and the version of US history we teach children in schools. About 200-300 people are down in the plaza tonight.

FDL’s Kevin Gosztola, Jon Walker and Ryan Cook will be livestreaming the #OccupyDC march from Freedom Plaza to the State Department today starting at 12:50 pm. The protesters plan to join the Keystone XL pipeline protesters for the final public hearing on the matter before deciding whether to allow construction to proceed. I’ll be liveblogging the protest here.

I spent my morning at Freedom Plaza in Washington DC for the beginning of the October 2011 rally. While the event is heavily focused on ending our highly unpopular and expensive wars, it is also about economic justice and stopping the corporate control of government that is destroying the country for the other 99 percent. This was a protest not just against the Republican policies that started under George W. Bush, but also the policies that Barack Obama chooses to continue and expand on a daily basis.

I’m at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC with Jon Walker and Kevin Gozstola, where we’ll be livestreaming the occupation.

Chip in $10 to our OccupyWallStreet coverage fund and help us do what the mainstream media won’t do.

Kevin Gostzola has been tirelessly liveblogging the Occupy Wall Street protests each day since they began on September 17, and we want to bring him to DC on October 6 when the Occupy Wall Street protesters make their way to DC to join the October 2011 protest in Freedom Plaza.