Occupy Atlanta vowed to intensify their fight against foreclosures Thursday, hours after a family of five was evicted from a south Gwinnett home where several protesters congregated this week.
Some demonstrators have shifted their attention to suburban communities after a month spent staging protests in downtown Atlanta against Wall Street's influence in U.S. politics. Occupy Atlanta said it's now hopes to bring attention to the foreclosure crisis.
"We've shined a light on injustice," said Tim Franzen, one of the group's organizers. "The Rorey family is a symbol of what's happening all over this country."
The Roreys were evicted Thursday from their four-bedroom home just south of Snellville. Minutes before about a dozen protesters gathered in front of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville to decry threats they said Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway made to the family.
Franzen said the Rorey family was willing to allow the demonstrators to stay, but the group left because they didn't want to risk anyone in the family going to jail.
Franzen said Conway told Tawanna Rorey and her husband, a law enforcement officer with DeKalb County, that he would have them arrested for being accessories to trespassers.
Conway declined to address the accusations made by Occupy Atlanta.
“Evictions are never pleasant for anyone, but I have a job to do and I’m doing my job," Conway said in a written statement.
It wasn't immediately clear where the Roreys went following their eviction. Several messages left with their attorney, Asim Alam of Tucker, were not returned Thursday.
Franzen said the group had been seeking a good story to highlight the problems with the mortgage industry. He said Rorey's husband sent Occupy Atlanta an e-mail detailing their plight last week and within a few hours they formulated a plan to bring attention to the foreclosure.
The demonstrators plan to canvass the neighborhood and recruit more suburban supporters in the coming days. Franzen said the group would set up a camp in Gwinnett over the next couple of days, but wasn't immediately sure where.
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