PORTLAND — Occupy Maine said Monday it will ask a judge to dismiss the protest group’s lawsuit against the city and is setting up a new organization to oversee Lincoln Park and continue the protests.

Earlier this month, a Superior Court justice turned down Occupy Maine’s effort to bar the city from ordering the group to stop camping overnight in Lincoln Park. Occupy Maine had moved into the park in October under an agreement with the city, which eventually became concerned over health and safety issues in the park.

City officials then said they would hold off on ordering the encampment disbanded until a judge ruled whether Portland had the authority to ban overnight camping in the park. Justice Thomas Warren on Feb. 1 turned down Occupy Maine’s request for a preliminary injunction against the city, agreeing that the group had a First Amendment right to protest but also finding that the city could regulate the time and manner of those protests.

The city then issued an eviction order, and Occupy Maine left the park peacefully the next week.

In a news release issued Monday afternoon, Occupy Maine said it would drop its lawsuit, which was still active despite the ruling on the preliminary injunction.

“We believe the energy and resources required to continue litigation would be of better use in service to the community,” Occupy Maine said.

The group also said it would continue to protest against income inequality and other issues that sparked the original Occupy Wall Street protests in New York late last summer.

Occupy Maine said it plans to hold a protest in Lincoln Park – which it said has now become “a true civic center” – to mark George Washington’s birthday Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Occupy Maine also said it would hold a “general assembly” meeting following that rally and would continue its weekly meetings in Lincoln Park on Sundays at 3 p.m.