Hennepin Co. sheriff costs from protest top $200K

The Hennepin County sheriff's office says its costs of patrolling a downtown Minneapolis protest have topped $200,000 in just over two weeks.

As of Sunday, the sheriff's office says the OccupyMN protest has cost it more than $128,000 in overtime and $71,300 in regular pay since the protest began Oct. 7.

Seven people have been given trespass notices since group began occupying the Hennepin County Government Center Plaza.

The sheriff's office says Hennepin County Security found a box of bricks of rocks on the plaza Monday, with a note saying they were supplies for a riot.

Robert Schroedl, an organizer for the protesters' own security detail, says the bricks were left by a person who has not been involved in the occupation, but has shown up to cause disruptions.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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