Mass arrests across US
Protesters affiliated with Occupy Wall Street march a few blocks away from the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday in New York City and a injured man, inset, cries after being assaulted by police in Zuccotti Park.Photo: AFP
Thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters marched across the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday as clashes with police led to over 250 arrests on the two-month anniversary of the anti-capitalist movement.
The evening march, which took place without incident, was a show of force for the Occupy Wall Street campaign that has gone global.
The New York protests were part of a "Global Day of Action" with hundreds of demonstrations planned across the United States. Police evicted protesters in Los Angeles and Dallas, arresting dozens of people.
Chanting "Wall Street's closed!" "We are the 99 percent" and "Whose street? Our street!" about 1,000 demonstrators engaged in a tense face-off with hundreds of police, including many on horseback outside the iconic exchange on Thursday.
Amid the chaos, police then moved in to clear the street, and ensuing clashes sent police and protesters clattering to the ground. One man was repeatedly clubbed with a police baton, while several protesters were handcuffed and dragged into police trucks.
In Washington, more than 200 protesters marched under police escort from the Occupy DC encampment, near the White House, for the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Potomac River, marching through the heart of the US capital.
In Chicago, thousands of protesters blocked rush hour traffic as they marched past financial institutions .
On the West Coast, more than 70 people were arrested after a day of protests that included a morning sit-in at a major downtown intersection in Los Angeles. Police in Portland, Oregon said 34 people had been arrested during the day.
NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly said seven police officers had been hurt in the morning clashes. Police later said that 64 people were arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge march, bringing the number of arrests to over 250.
More than 460 protests were planned across the country, according to activist group MoveOn.
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