80 Busted in 'Occupy Wall St.'

NYPD cracks down on week-old protest
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 25, 2011 9:10 AM CDT
80 Busted in 'Occupy Wall St.'
Participants in a march organized by Occupy Wall Street make their up Broadway Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 in New York.   (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

The NYPD was busily busting protesters yesterday, notching at least 80 arrests on the seventh day of protests known as "Occupy Wall Street," reports the Wall Street Journal. "On our march from Union Square the cops proceeded to use nets to round up people," said one 24-year-old protester. "They split the group into two. As far as I understood, they arrested everyone in the nets."

The group is railing against the nation's big banks and so-called "top 1%," and appear to be driven largely via Twitter and other social media. Cops initially said they wouldn't arrest the protesters, who lack a permit, but that sentiment appears to be on the wane. "There's a lot of speculation that the police are going to throw us out," said one protester. Hundreds gathered last night in Lower Manhattan, asking passers-by to sign a petition to support "the rights of Americans to assemble and practice their rights to free speech and thought." Click here for more background on Occupy Wall Street. (More Occupy Wall Street stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X