Protesters outside City Hall led away by police after refusing to leave for construction

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    MEMPHIS, TN (WREG) — Several people were led away from the plaza in front of Memphis City Hall by police Wednesday morning after refusing to leave despite an order to do so.

Officers used bullhorns to try to disperse the crowd from Civic Center Plaza. Just before 6 a.m. they even warned them that an unlawful assembly would be declared if they didn’t leave as soon as possible.

The city said the protesters must move because of construction at City Hall. Activists claimed that this had nothing to do with construction and the city was just trying to get them to leave.

WREG’s Melissa Moon confirmed with Nixon General Contractors that work has been ongoing at City Hall for a few weeks fixing a leaky roof. Crews will be putting up fencing Wednesday around City Hall and bringing in fork lifts and dumpsters.

The area will be a hard hat zone, they said.

As of 8 a.m. the protesters had not left and officers began going to talk with the protesters individually to see if they could get them to move. Authorities told the protesters they could relocate right across the street or to a nearby spot, but they refused, saying the idea is to disrupt City Hall.

They told the protesters they need to clear out, but the group said they won’t leave until their demands are met.

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