Protesters are hunkered down in Freedom Plaza for what could be months.
US Park police have told organizers of the October 2011/Stop the Machine demonstration that they can stay in the plaza for up to four months - an extension that would stretch the occupation until February.
The group's permit expired Sunday, and they were given a deadline of Monday afternoon to leave the park. As that deadline approached, police asked for a private meeting and agreed to allow the protesters to extend their stay.
A tent city has cropped up in Freedom Plaza. Tuesday morning volunteers handed out coffee and bagels. A nearby medical tent is supplying band-aids, hand sanitizer and other supplies.
On Monday, demonstrators had vowed not to leave the plaza unless police hauled them out in handcuffs.
"So far we haven't had any threats, so we don't think they are going to come in and storm trooper us out," October 2011 organizer Kevin Zeese said.
But aside from an incident at the Air and Space Museum on Saturday, in which a dozen were pepper-sprayed by Smithsonian guards, the protests have been peaceful.
Freedom Plaza has drawn a diverse group of disaffected and angry protesters. The demonstrations in D.C., now 10 days along, are being held in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York.
Organizers said the October 2011 Stop the Machine demonstration was scheduled to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan and carries an anti-war and anti-corporate greed message.
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