About time.

(WaPo) — The National Park Service said Friday that it will begin enforcing its long-standing regulation prohibiting camping on federal parkland at the Occupy sites at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza at noon Monday.

To comply with the no-camping rules, protesters must remove all evidence of camping, including bedding, storage containers and anything used to make a fire, the Park Service said. If the protesters don’t comply, they may be arrested and their property seized.

“Many of us will be likely to defend the park with the passion anyone would show defending their home,” Sam Jewler, who has been protesting at McPherson Square, said. “We are fighting for the betterment of D.C., America and the world, and we intend to continue using our First Amendment rights to do so.”

The Park Service distributed
fliers outlining the regulations and noted that it had “repeatedly advised participants” of the rules and had sought “voluntary compliance.”

Three protesters were arrested at McPherson Square early Friday, but Carol Johnson, spokeswoman for the National Mall and Memorial Parks, said they were not charged with camping. Two of the protesters were charged with disorderly conduct, and one had an outstanding warrant for another offense.

The Park Service has long supported protesters’ right to conduct a “24-hour vigil” in the camps, where protesters have been living in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement since October and have installed portable toilets and, in the case of Freedom Plaza, a nearly full-service kitchen. The camps have come under fire because of health and safety concerns .