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Cops Nab 50 Occupiers Entering Church Lot

New York protesters seeking new camp site

By the Associated Press

Posted Dec 17, 2011 5:22 PM CST

(AP) – Dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested today after they scaled a chain-link fence or crawled under it to get to an Episcopal church-owned lot they want to use for a new camp site. Protesters used a wooden ladder to scale the fence or lifted it from below while others cheered them on. A man wearing a Santa suit stood on the ladder among others, as they ignored red "Private Property" signs.

As officers made arrests, protesters shouted obscenities and hollered: "Make them catch you!" The group was inside the lot for a short time before being led out by police in single file through a space in the fence. About 50 people were arrested, police said. "We're just trying to say that this country has gone in the wrong direction, and we need spaces that we can control and we can decide our future in," said one protester. Occupiers have been trying to gain church consent to use the lot since authorities ousted them from Zuccotti Park.

Occupy Wall Street protesters lift the fences surrounding a park in an effort to occupy the space they were previously removed from weeks prior, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in New York.
Occupy Wall Street protesters lift the fences surrounding a park in an effort to occupy the space they were previously removed from weeks prior, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in New York.   (John Minchillo)
Occupy Wall Street protesters are shoved onto the street by police after an effort to occupy the space they were previously removed from weeks prior, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in New York.
Occupy Wall Street protesters are shoved onto the street by police after an effort to occupy the space they were previously removed from weeks prior, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in New York.   (John Minchillo)
An Occupy Wall Street protester heads up a ladder to scale the fences surrounding a park to occupy the space they were previously removed from weeks prior, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in New York.
An Occupy Wall Street protester heads up a ladder to scale the fences surrounding a park to occupy the space they were previously removed from weeks prior, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in New York.   (John Minchillo)
Occupy Wall Street protesters lift the fences surrounding a park in an effort to occupy the space they were previously removed from weeks prior, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in New York.
Occupy Wall Street protesters lift the fences surrounding a park in an effort to occupy the space they were previously removed from weeks prior, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in New York.   (John Minchillo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 16 comments
SpaceCadetGlow
Dec 19, 2011 9:02 AM CST
these occupiers really are no better than the 1 % fat cats and the people being bought and sold by them. They have degenerated themselves into mere machines whose sole purpose is making money. When one's only ambition and concern  is how fat their wallet is/can be/should be/would be/isn't then the true meaning to living has been completely and utterly lost, what happened to the idea that money doesn't make the man and the true measure of what it means to be human is the gathering and collection of life experience and to what extent one can absorb all the wonders this world has to offer that have absolutely nothing to do with how much you earn? This is not living people,wake up and begin experiencing a real life outside of what a paycheck can offer you. It makes me sad for people that something that has motivated people to this degree to get out there and get their voices heard is something as trivial as money, is there nothing else we care about as human beings any more?
without_hate
Dec 18, 2011 7:54 AM CST
Free loading parasite are nice words to describe this group of lawless radicals. What gives them the right to camp out on public or private property without the permission of the property owners. 
buzzdbr
Dec 18, 2011 7:19 AM CST
Private property. Not owned by a bank or county/state/federal agency. Want to make sense OWS? Get some common sense 1st and not let your message get taken over by the extreme. Fighting against the system? Nothing helps you more than taking over a lot owned by a church.

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

Politics • US

 
NYPD • police • arrest • protesters • Occupy Wall Street

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