A week after their encampment in front of the county courthouse came down, leaders of the Occupy SLO movement have not explained publicly why they dismantled it or what direction, if any, they intend to take.

Members of the movement declined numerous requests for comment this week from The Tribune.

Their website remains on line.

The encampment, with its canopy, political signs and, at one point tents, became a fixture for county residents using the courthouse. It stood for four months before disappearing suddenly last week.

Occupy SLO was a local variant of the national movement formed last fall to draw attention to what its leaders describe as the inequitable distribution of wealth in the United States.

The Occupy movement is generally credited with successfully getting its message about wealth inequity out to a broader public. But it also has been criticized for a lack of direction after achieving that goal.