With Gallery: Eviction looms for Camp Take Notice: 'I doubt we'll meet the deadline'

The rally, which was scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m., was interrupted midway by severe weather. This forced organizers to disassemble the electric sound equipment because of lightning.

Therefore, there were no speeches to mark the end of the camp, only the good will of supporters and eventually a break in the weather. When the sun came back out, so did the hot dogs and cans of pop donated by local volunteer and church groups.

The work of clearing out the camp is far from over, though. The protesting itself could continue past the midnight deadline.

“There are still going to be people coming tonight, and they are going to be staying late, right on up to the eviction time,” said Brian Durrance of MISSION, which stands for Michigan Itinerant Shelter System-Interdependent Out of Necessity, the group that has helped out the camp. “Some may choose to stay overnight.”

Two members of the clergy Durrance said who might stay at the camp past the deadline out of protest include Rev. Dan Reim of St. Mary’s Student Parish in Ann Arbor and Rev. Ian Twiss of Holy Faith Church in Saline.

They were not expected to arrive until 10 p.m., he said.

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, there are still many items at the camp.

“We’re constantly moving people out,” Durrance said. “I doubt we’ll meet the deadline. It’s just too many people. We’ve had church people working on it for three days.”

Whatever’s left on the property, the Michigan Department of Transportation, which owns the land, will take and put into storage units, Durrance said.

It’s a different story for people still on the property after midnight.

They will be dealt with like any other trespassers, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.

They can leave on their own free will, but they can also be forcibly removed.

“People will be asked to leave the area,” said Derrick Jackson, spokesman for the sheriff’s office. “There’s no plan to round people up at midnight.”