Las Vegas Weekly

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Occupy Las Vegas celebrated the anniversary of its first action—the Strip march—on October 6. Yes, there still is an Occupy Las Vegas. While the group isn’t occupying anything at the moment—its encampment at 4700 Paradise Road north of Tropicana Avenue closed in February, reputedly because it devolved into a homeless haven, though team member Tod Foley says it was because no one wanted to renegotiate the license—the movement continues.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say Occupy has gone underground,” says Foley. Instead, local Occupiers have moved into “Phase 2”—breaking up into smaller groups to work with other organizations and form coalitions, “building community from the very bottom up.” Occupy even joined the Tea Party on its Helldorado Days float last May, and Foley says only one moment might have embodied a clash of values: when a Tea Party leader asked an Occupier to remove his cape—an American flag dipped in black with the anarchy symbol. As Foley says, “It’s not about left or right. It’s about up.”