Hundreds of New York City police officers raided the home of the Occupy Wall Street movement shortly before 1 a.m. today. Police tore down the entire infrastructure built over the past 59 days in Zuccotti Park as they cleared the park. Tents were torn down. The library was removed. Personal belongings were thrown into massive piles and then taken away by dump trucks. Some protesters had chained themselves together in an effort to stay in the park. At least 70 people were arrested, including City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. Democracy Now! has just learned a legal team representing the protesters has obtained a temporary restraining order against the City of New York and Brookfield Office Properties directing that occupiers be allowed back on the premises with their belongings. The City is saying it will allow protesters to return to the park, but without sleeping bags or tents. In a statement, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had become increasingly concerned that the occupation was coming to pose a “health and fire safety hazard to the protesters and to the surrounding community.” The raid on the park came just two days before a massive protest is scheduled to mark the start of the third month of Occupy Wall Street. As we went to air, hundreds of Occupy Wall Street supporters were gathering in nearby Foley Square to plan the movement’s next step. See all of Democracy Now!’s reports on the Occupy Wall Street movement.
NYPD Raid Occupy Wall Street Encampment Evict Protesters, Clear Zuccotti Park
HeadlineNov 15, 2011