Times Square Taken Over as Occupy Wall Street Enters Second Month, Hundreds Arrested Across Country

It was a month ago today that Occupy Wall Street began in Manhattan’s Financial District. The protest encampment based at Zuccotti Park remains and continues to grow despite last week’s threatened eviction by the City of New York. On Saturday, thousands of protesters marched from Zuccotti Park to Times Square, the heart of New York’s media, tourism and entertainment district. Earlier in the day, about two dozen people were arrested at a Citibank in Lower Manhattan while they attempted to take their money out of the bank.

In New York, at least 92 people were arrested on Saturday during a day of action that saw tens of thousands march from the Wall Street—Occupy Wall Street encampment to Times Square. Earlier in the day, about two dozen people were arrested at a Citibank in Manhattan while they attempted to take their money out of the bank. The protesters were reportedly locked into the bank and then detained. Video shot outside the bank shows undercover police officer dragging a woman into the bank.

There was a barricade line in front of us that prevented the demonstrators from entering into the main strip that most people would recognize as Times Square. This was hundreds and hundreds of people backed up at this point. Thousands were in the area of Times Square. But in that intersection where we were, hundreds and hundreds of people were backed up, as far you could see. The police were attempting to push that barricade line back into the crowd. Some officers physically picked up the metal barricades and used them as shields, pushing back into the crowd. Tensions reached a boiling point when the barricades were opened, and the police allowed officers on horseback to enter into the crowded space. Admittedly, some people chose to stand their ground as the NYPD repeatedly told them to back off, but those who wanted to move really couldn’t. There was no space to get away. And these horses were pushed into the crowd.

The officers would at times pick up the barricades. You know, six or so officers would pick up the barricades by their uprights and use them as sort of broad shields and push them into the crowd. There was one point when there was a metal piece of the barricade that had stuck out perpendicular, and that was shoved into the crowd.

The day started by people marching from Occupy Wall Street. This was right after the day before, where the park was going to be, quote, "cleaned up." Many were fearful it was be cleaned out, and there was such a tremendous response, including from city officials, telling the Mayor, Bloomberg, to back off and not allow this private company that runs the park, Brookfield Properties, to move in with so-called cleaners, that at 7:00 in the morning, the appointed time of the evacuation, the city announced they would not be doing this evacuation. The next day, the protest began in the morning.

That’s correct. The Occupy Wall Street movement here in New York City took part in the global day of action with a number of symbolic demonstrations throughout Manhattan. They began with a march in the Financial District, which led to a march to Washington Square, which is just north of the area, where they were bolstered by several hundred students protesting things like student debt. It was at Washington Square Park that a number of demonstrators broke off and went to Citibank, as we mentioned in the lede and the headlines, where they attempted to close their accounts with Citibank. Two dozen were arrested.