DEA agents with guns drawn as well as IRS agents swarmed the Oaksterdam campus as well as the store/cafe site, bringing much of Downtown Oakland to a halt and drawing swarms of protesters to the ongoing raid.

KPFA’s Flashpoints provided same-day coverage and had a correspondent detained and arrested while trying to observe the raid.

Since then, Oaksterdam founder Richard Lee has announced his retirement.

Downtown Oakland continues to lead the nation in aggressive law enforcement initiatives.