Injured Occupy Oakland Protester Awakes Before Brain Surgery

Scott Olsen, the Iraq War veteran and Occupy Oakland protester who sustained a skull fracture Wednesday after a police threw a projectile at him, "has woken up and is lucid as he awaits surgery," The Guardian reports.

Scott Olsen--the Iraq War veteran and Occupy Oakland protester who sustained a skull fracture Wednesday after a police threw a projectile at him--"has woken up and is lucid as he awaits surgery," The Guardian reports. According to the paper, Olsen "'responded with a very large smile' to a visit from his parents and he was "able to understand what's going on," though he had a little difficulty speaking. Though the vet's condition was updated to "fair" yesterday, doctors determined that he will need surgery to relieve brain pressure caused by the head injury. Meanwhile, Occupiers in many cities held vigils for Olsen, the AP reports, with a crowd of at least 1,000 gathering in Oakland Thursday night. The Occupy Wall Street website responded to the incident with a post announcing, "We are all Scott Olsen."