Brad German, Freddie Mac’s public relations director, summed up Occupy Homes with the following statement: “What is unusual, in fact to our experience utterly unprece­dented, is the level of aggression and defiance of the law by these activists.” Coming from him, that’s a badge of honor. Occupy Homes has won seven victories thus far, and more are on the way. The movement has combined longstand­ing community organizing models, like neighborhood meet­ings and BBQs, with militant direct action and mass civil disobedience.

The struggle for the Cruz house has been dubbed “The Battle of 4044 Cedar Ave” by The Huffington Post. A see-saw series of evictions and liberations featured an impromptu blockade of a major street, a pre-dawn sheriff’s eviction, protesters linking arms and charging a police line, shutting down a major highway, and a spectacular nighttime showdown ending with the chief of police himself stepping on activists blockading the doorway. Thirty-seven people, including internationally famed hip-hop artist Brother Ali, were arrested in well-publicized acts of civil disobedience. A progressive Democrat mayor locked his office doors after being exposed as a lackey for the banks.