Five more arrested in Atlanta protest
Source: Agencies |
November 8, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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FIVE people were arrested early yesterday around a downtown Atlanta park that has been a site of Wall Street protests, a day after 20 demonstrators were taken to jail by officers in riot gear when a rally spilled into the streets.
Atlanta police have been enforcing rules, including a night-time curfew, around Woodruff Park where protests have been centered.
Anti-Wall Street protesters across the country have been arrested in recent weeks, most for curfew violations.
Some of the most intense confrontations between demonstrators and police have been in Oakland, California, where two Iraq War veterans have been hurt in separate clashes with officers.
Atlanta protesters held a meeting earlier in the evening, then marched back to the downtown park. Police spokesman Carlos Campos said officers were watching. Police issued three instructions to leave the park. Usually after the third, they start to make arrests.
Occupy Atlanta organizers earlier said they planned to camp again at the park, setting up yet another potential showdown with police and the mayor.
Twenty people were arrested last Saturday on charges they refused to leave the park after curfew or blocked city roads, police said.
Occupy Atlanta organizer Tim Franzen said most were released on Sunday and one other person charged with aggravated assault and obstruction will probably not bailed until sometime this week.
Before Saturday's 11pm curfew, a crowd of several hundred protesters had set up tents at Woodruff Park, the scene of about 50 arrests of demonstrators last month.
Organizers said they planned to stay overnight despite warnings from the mayor and police that anyone there past closing would be arrested.
But as the deadline approached, protesters began decamping peacefully. Dozens of officers were on hand, herding protesters away from the park's entrances and installing barricades around it. A police helicopter flew overhead.
While most protesters left the park, a few stayed behind. Many spilled into Peachtree Street, a city thoroughfare, blocking roads.
During the march, a police officer on a motorcycle, with its lights and siren turned on, drove into a crowd marching on the street, inflaming a tense situation.
On Sunday night, protesters chanted: "We are hungry. We are poor. What are you wasting our money for?"
Protesters began camping in Woodruff Park on October 7. Mayor Kasim Reed initially issued an executive order allowing them to stay overnight, but he later revoked it, saying there were increasing security concerns.
Police Chief George Turner said: "Mayor Reed was clear earlier this week in his public statements that the City of Atlanta would arrest any persons who violated the law." He said warnings were issued by loudspeaker repeatedly in English and Spanish before the latest arrests.
Atlanta police have been enforcing rules, including a night-time curfew, around Woodruff Park where protests have been centered.
Anti-Wall Street protesters across the country have been arrested in recent weeks, most for curfew violations.
Some of the most intense confrontations between demonstrators and police have been in Oakland, California, where two Iraq War veterans have been hurt in separate clashes with officers.
Atlanta protesters held a meeting earlier in the evening, then marched back to the downtown park. Police spokesman Carlos Campos said officers were watching. Police issued three instructions to leave the park. Usually after the third, they start to make arrests.
Occupy Atlanta organizers earlier said they planned to camp again at the park, setting up yet another potential showdown with police and the mayor.
Twenty people were arrested last Saturday on charges they refused to leave the park after curfew or blocked city roads, police said.
Occupy Atlanta organizer Tim Franzen said most were released on Sunday and one other person charged with aggravated assault and obstruction will probably not bailed until sometime this week.
Before Saturday's 11pm curfew, a crowd of several hundred protesters had set up tents at Woodruff Park, the scene of about 50 arrests of demonstrators last month.
Organizers said they planned to stay overnight despite warnings from the mayor and police that anyone there past closing would be arrested.
But as the deadline approached, protesters began decamping peacefully. Dozens of officers were on hand, herding protesters away from the park's entrances and installing barricades around it. A police helicopter flew overhead.
While most protesters left the park, a few stayed behind. Many spilled into Peachtree Street, a city thoroughfare, blocking roads.
During the march, a police officer on a motorcycle, with its lights and siren turned on, drove into a crowd marching on the street, inflaming a tense situation.
On Sunday night, protesters chanted: "We are hungry. We are poor. What are you wasting our money for?"
Protesters began camping in Woodruff Park on October 7. Mayor Kasim Reed initially issued an executive order allowing them to stay overnight, but he later revoked it, saying there were increasing security concerns.
Police Chief George Turner said: "Mayor Reed was clear earlier this week in his public statements that the City of Atlanta would arrest any persons who violated the law." He said warnings were issued by loudspeaker repeatedly in English and Spanish before the latest arrests.
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