A 25-year-old graduate student from Shakopee was nearly 100 miles away from the Minneapolis OccupyMN events Saturday. Still, he kept close tabs, online.

"I think it is incredibly uplifting to see people coming together and demand that the government hear their voice," said the grad student, who asked through email only to be identified as Daniel G. "I could not be more proud to be both an American and a Minnesotan right now."

Daniel is at Mankato State University, studying to become a special education teacher. On Saturday, he did homework while watching live-streaming video from OccupyMN. He learned about OccupyMN while watching news of other Occupy protests.

"I’m sick of a president and a congress that I voted for fail to meet expectations time and time again," Daniel wrote to Patch. "The people I’ve seen here tonight have let me know that there are people like me out there seeking social, political and economic justice."

After meeting people at the webstream's chat window, he said he plans to work ahead in his studies so he can go to Minneapolis to personally join the protest. Daniel had lots of online company Saturday night. The livestream logged about 500 viewers during much of the evening, and 5,300 were watching later when sheriffs' deputies confiscated the tents of protesters.

About 500 people were on hand—about half the size of the crowd on the protest's first day—as demonstrators set up pup tents they called "transparent structures." These tents, made from clear plastic sheeting and light lumber, were meant to skirt a ban on tents. Demonstrators said the clear sheeting satisfied a law-enforcement concern that tents would obscure activities inside.

As many as 50 sheriff's deputies and security officers later confiscated both camping-style tents and handmade pup tents. No one was arrested.

Saturday was the ninth consecutive night of an around-the-clock demonstration that started Oct. 7 at the Hennepin County Government Center, in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement.