Occupy Orlando takes stand for one of their own

Occupy Orlando protestors want Tim Osmar out of jail.

Osmar was arrested three weeks ago for writing on a city sidewalk with chalk. On Thursday, occupiers gathered in front of Orlando City Hall to repeat the crime.

“My claim is that he’s being held as a political prisoner,” occupier Kirk Root said.

A city ordinance prohibits painting any advertising material on streets or sidewalks but occupiers claim chalk isn’t permanent.

“It could be erased with water in a second,” Jim Levite said. “This will be gone tomorrow when the rain comes.”

“This is not permanently defacing any property,” protestor Jim Callahan said. “It will be washed away in the next rain storm. And if they want to do it sooner they can put a garden hose to it.”

Protestors could write within a designated red box. One message read:

“Tim Osmar is being held as a political prisoner for doing this. Rooney stated he wasn't convinced Omar had been charged with the appropriate charge. This is not a crime.”

Several Orange County deputies were at city hall to make sure protestors were not writing outside the lines.  

No arrests were made.