Occupy Wall Street began 2012 with as much force and determination as it did at its inception last year, and although the re-occupation of Zuccotti Park was short-lived, I don't think anyone was left doubting they'll be back.
Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered in Zuccotti Park on Saturday and, in a return to scenes from earlier in the year, the evening began with the sound of drumming and calls of the now familiar slogan, “We are the 99 percent." It ended with torn-down barricades and yet again another run-in with Bloomberg's "Army."
Shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve, NYPD officers carried a person out of the park, prompting protesters to follow behind them, shouting “Shame!” The reason the person was escorted away was unclear.
Minutes later, a group of protesters grabbed some of the metal barricades that surround the park and began piling them inside. As they gripped the barricades, police officers took hold as well, and a tug-of-war and shoving match began, the silver bars trapped in between. At least one police officer fired an arch of pepper spray into the crowd behind those barricades.
At least a dozen police officers then charged into the park, plowing directly into a crowd of people, some of whom were trying to flee. One man was thrown down and pinned to the ground by several officers.
In the park, some protesters shouted “Peaceful!” and “Nonviolent!”
Before sunrise New Year's Day, twitter reports claimed possiby 60 protesters had been arrested at various locations as they were followed throughout Manhattan by NYPD, and allegedly grabbed randomly, zip-cuffed, then loaded into police vans. The claims also state that one of those arrested included an observer for the National Lawyer's Guild after being asked to put his cell phone down.
I'll have much more on this for you a bit later today. Many more videos of the violent police arrests to go through. Also coming up in the afternoon is Occupy the Rose Parade.
