Occupy Wall Street marks six-month anniversary with fresh protests

Police sweep Zuccotti Park in New York, arresting dozens after day of demonstrations

guardian.co.uk, Reuters in New York, Sunday 18 March 2012

Occupy Wall Street protesters march through the streets of New York
before dozens were arrested in Zuccotti Park. Photograph:
Caylak/Demotix/Corbis 

Police have arrested dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters during a protest marking the movement's six-month anniversary at its birthplace in New York's Zuccotti Park.

The sweep of the park by police just before midnight capped a day of demonstrations and marching in lower Manhattan. There was no official word on the number of arrests but dozens of people were handcuffed and led out of the park.

Earlier in the day, 15 people were arrested and three officers suffered injuries, police said.

Protesters reconvened at the park following afternoon marches through New York's financial district. By 11pm on Saturday roughly 300 had gathered there.

"This is our spring offensive," said Michael Premo, 30, of New York, who identified himself as a spokesman for the movement. "People think the Occupy movement has gone away. It's important for people to see we're back."

Inspired by the pro-democracy Arab Spring, the Wall Street protesters targeted US financial policies they blamed for the yawning income gap between rich and poor in the country, between what they called the 1% and the 99%. The demonstrators set up camp in Zuccotti Park on 17 September and sparked a wave of protests across the United States.

On Saturday evening several dozen police ringed the park and watched the crowd. Detective Brian Sessa said no action would be taken as long as the activists made no move to establish a camp.

Shortly after 11.30pm some protesters began to erect tents near the centre of the park and police began to move in, according to a protester, Cari Machet.

"They came in to shut it down," Machet said. "They told us we had to leave because the park was closed."

When about 100 officers entered the park dozens of protesters sat on the ground and refused orders to leave. They were then carried out in plastic handcuffs and put in police buses and vans.

The park was cleared within 20 minutes and by midnight no protesters remained in its boundaries.

Events got under way at about midday on Saturday, with street theatre troupes performing and guitar players leading singalongs. Some boisterous protesters marched through the streets of the financial district, chanting "bankers are gangsters" and shouting abuse at police.

As they have in past marches, protesters led police on a series of cat-and-mouse chases. Marchers at the front of the crowd would suddenly turn down narrow side streets, startling tourists and forcing police to send officers on motor scooters to contain the crowd.

The movement has made headlines for its clashes with police after campsites were set up for months in cities from New York to California. The camps were eventually shut down by authorities citing zoning regulations and public health concerns.

In New York the Occupy movement lost significant momentum in November when a pre-dawn sweep broke up the encampment at Zuccotti Park. At an Occupy protest in Oakland, California, in January, police fired teargas into crowds of protesters and more than 200 were arrested.

One protester, Paul Sylvester, 24, of Massachusetts, said he was thrilled to be back at the park but hoped the movement would begin to crystallise around clear goals.

"We need to be more concrete and specific," he said.

Critics say the Occupy movement lacks direction and clear demands.

It continues to draw celebrities, however. On Saturday night the independent filmmaker Michael Moore walked through the park before the police incursion.

"I think it's great that this movement continues to grow," Moore said. "I think the goals are clear. People are concerned that they have no control over their own democracy. They have no control over their own lives.

"This is the beginning. This park is sacred ground for millions across the country."