Wall Street Protests Result in 175 Arrests Sunday

Oct 17, 2011, 10:17 by R.E. Christian

Police reported about 175 arrests Sunday after a pre-dawn move to break up the "Occupy Chicago" protest in the Windy City's Congress Plaza.

It took police about two hours to clear everyone out of the park, hauling dozens of them away in commandeered city buses and police vehicles.

Fellow protesters gathered up the arrestees' belongings and took them to a church for safekeeping until bookings and court appearances are completed, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The arrests were the latest added to the tally of "Occupy" participants taken into custody at rallies across the United States.

Protesters were taken into custody Saturday night in Tucson and Phoenix, authorities said. The Tucson Sentinel reported Tucson police said they arrested 53 protesters after a group of about 150 demonstrators ignored an order they vacate a park at the 10:30 p.m. closing time. There were about 500 protesters at the rally' peak during the day, the Sentinel said.

Modern Times magazine in Mesa, Ariz., reported Phoenix police moved in to clear out protesters from a city park about 10 p.m. Saturday and wound up making about 50 arrests.

The Arizona Republic said more than 1,000 people took part in a Saturday rally in downtown Phoenix.

In Denver, police used pepper spray and hauled away two dozen individuals while breaking up a protester camp downtown, the Denver Post said.

Similar demonstrations continued around the world as the "Occupy Wall Street" movement reached its 1-month anniversary. Most of the protests were peaceful with the exception of Rome, where buildings and vehicles were torched.

In New York, thousands of protesters marched to Times Square Saturday chanting, "We are the 99 percent," in reference to the income disparity between the wealthy and the working class, The New York Times reported.

Source: UPI