And it was debunked by the reporter who's the source for Naomi Wolf, Wonkette, Michael Moore, and all the rest of the liberals who so desperately want the president to be a bad guy they'll latch onto any miniscule chunk of unsourced nonsense.
First, despite some press reports to the contrary, the only official DHS role in any 'Occupy' arrests took place in Portland. In that case, officers from Federal Protective Services (which is tasked with protecting federal buildings) assisted the Portland Police Bureau in clearing the federally-owned Terry Shrunk Plaza. Officers from FPS did make several arrests, although it's not clear how many.
I was also assured that FPS officers only had jurisdiction on federal property and would only make arrests after the situation has been deemed unsafe or unsanitary by the General Services Administration (GSA). That agency is that is the permitting authority for protests on federal property.
What's truly disturbing about how the story went viral is the above article was posted on November 16 -- nine days before Wolf posted her piece in the Guardian and days before Michael Moore appeared on Countdown and spread it around. Portland and the above Ellis retraction are never mentioned in the Wolf article. In other words, Ellis had already clarified his story more than a week before Wolf's reporting flooded through social media and Keith Olbermann's show, and no one ever bothered to mention the clarification.
Shameful and irresponsible. Now it's out there.