New York police on Monday arrested dozens of Occupy Wall Street activists who gathered in the city's financial district, where they sought to disrupt traffic and surround the New York Stock Exchange as part of a day of protests to mark the movement's first anniversary.
The protests attracted about a thousand activists, far fewer than last fall's numbers, highlighting the challenge the movement has faced in trying to sustain momentum after sparking a national conversation about economic inequality last fall.
The New York Police Department, which set up a broad perimeter to block access to the NYSE by anyone other than exchange workers, said it has made "multiple arrests" by midmorning. Police were also posted at major banks and government buildings, and guarded Wall Street' landmark Charging Bull, a 7,100 pound bronze sculpture.
Gideon Orion Oliver, a lawyer who represents a number of protesters and the president of the New York Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, estimated in a Twitter posting that about 90 protesters had been arrested. Among those was retired Episcopal Bishop George Packard, who also was arrested last December.
Occupy Wall Street protesters, who popularized the phrase "We are the 99 percent," gathered early Monday near Zuccotti Park, where a spontaneous encampment became their unofficial headquarters last year, but were again barred access by police.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/17/us-usa-occupy-idUSBRE88G0P720120917
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