Tensions rise as Occupy Wall Street protests stretch across the country

Tensions rise as Occupy Wall Street protests stretch across the country
By Zachary Roth | The Lookout – 6 hrs ago

More than a month after the first Occupy Wall Street protests, the movement to highlight inequality and corporate influence on politics has spread across the country and around the world.

But as the sit-ins drag on, tensions with local city officials are rising. In Oakland, there have been violent clashes between police and demonstrators. In Atlanta, Occupiers have been evicted from the park where they had camped. From Chicago to Los Angeles, wary standoffs prevail.

Here's a roundup, based on reports in the New York Times and other outlets, of where things stand in a few of the more prominent "Occupied" cities:

Oakland: Late Tuesday, in what was by far the most tumultuous episode since the movement began, police used tear gas and explosives to prevent protesters from re-entering a square in front of City Hall where they had been encamped until earlier that day. In all, 100 people were arrested. An Iraq war vet was in critical condition after being struck in the head with a projectile. Police have said they used tear gas only after being pelted with rocks.

Wednesday night, the protest grew to around 3,000 people but remained largely peaceful, as demonstrators voted to hold a citywide strike on Nov. 2. "Now the whole world is watching Oakland," they chanted.

New York City: Protesters marched Wednesday night to City Hall in solidarity with those in Oakland. Ten people were arrested by the end of the night, but things didn't approach the level of chaos that occurred out west.

Still, there have been plenty of tensions in the place where the Occupy movement kicked off. Earlier this month, demonstrators won a small victory when the owners of Zuccotti Park postponed a cleanup that would have displaced them. This week, the local government passed an ordinance limiting drumming hours, after residents complained about ongoing drumming. And of course, the protests first exploded into the national media spotlight last month after a New York City Police Department officer was caught on camera pepper-spraying protesters.

Atlanta: On Wednesday, police sent in SWAT teams to arrest more than 50 protesters and remove their tents from a park downtown, after Mayor Kasim Reed decided that the situation had become unsafe. Reed said the last straw came when a man who was legally carrying an AK-47 joined the protest, though some protesters said he wasn't part of the demonstration.

Earlier this month, Occupy Atlanta raised eyebrows when John Lewis, a Democratic member of Congress and an icon of the civil-rights movement, was prevented from speaking to protesters after some argued that letting him speak would compromise the protesters' commitment to equality.

Philadelphia: City officials want protesters to remove their tents from a plaza outside City Hall and move across the street in order to allow for a planned $50 million construction project to go forward. They've also expressed concern over sanitation issues.

Wednesday night, protesters marched in support of the Oakland protests. They say they will join the Nov. 2 strike.

Chicago: Police in the Windy City have arrested more than 300 protesters in recent weeks. Wednesday, some demonstrators massed outside the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, asking for 24-hour access to Grant Park, and demanding that charges be dropped against those arrested.

"We've been working hard to strike a balance," between free speech and maintaining order, a spokeswoman for Emanuel told the Times.

Los Angeles: Things have been relatively calm in L.A., where the City Council passed a resolution in support of the protesters. But Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa warned Wednesday that the protesters will not be able to stay outside City Hall indefinitely. He said he wants lawmakers to restrict when people are allowed on city property. The mayor's office also said it's looking into alternative locations.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout...street-protests-stretch-across-203823185.html

 

Oct 15, 2011 – Four people were killed and 23 people wounded in a rash of shootings in Chicago on Friday and Saturday.

Oct 15, 2011 - Chicago police arrested about 130 Occupy Chicago protesters starting about 1 a.m. today after the group returned to Grant Park for the second weekend Saturday night and tried to maintain a camp in the park after its official closing time.
Those taken into custody were taken away in police vans and sheriff's department buses for booking at police district stations.
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Chicago pulls massive police force from Hoods to arrest OWS, and citizens get shot in those Hoods.
Does Obama support this??