We just got a call from one of the homeless protesters outside city hall—there are rumors going around that a police sweep may be planned in the next hour.

John Doussard and Maria Rubio in the mayor’s office isn’t answering calls, Rubio’s assistant Jared Spencer says he believes there’s been a meeting during the last hour but did not know what was planned. Central Precinct Commander Mike Reese wasn’t answering his phone either. So I’ll head down there to see what comes of it. However, it would be surprising if a sweep took place.

UPDATE: 1:15pm

I bumped into Reese on the street corner, he said he’d heard nothing about sweeping the protesters on, and he should know. It was just a rumor. The protesters say they’re worried about being moved on in light of this morning’s Oregonian editorial, which they say puts pressure on Potter to “do something illegal.”

“This is a protest protected by the constitution,” said protester Larry Reynolds, who happened to be clutching a copy of that document while we talked. “What the Oregonian is saying is that homeless people don’t have rights.”