Occupy Columbia Hearing Thursday

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)– Attorneys for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Occupy Columbia protesters are heading back to federal court. A hearing is set for 11:30 a.m. Thursday. State attorneys want U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie to lift her injunction preventing the state from removing the protesters. The request follows the Budget and Control Board’s approval Monday of emergency regulations banning camping and sleeping on Statehouse grounds. The state’s ability to enforce the rule hinges on Currie accepting it as valid. Last week, Currie ruled the protesters and their tents could stay while their lawsuit progressed, or until valid restrictions were put in place. State law specifies that emergency regulations are applicable in cases of “imminent peril to public health, safety, or welfare.” The protesters began their around-the-clock protest Oct. 15.