About 80 Arrested in Union Square Protest
About 80 people were arrested near Union Square on Saturday afternoon when demonstrators clashed with police during a protest led by the group Occupy Wall Street, police said.
Of the dozens arrested, most were for disorderly conduct, obstructing vehicular and pedestrian traffic, resisting arrest and, in one case, assaulting a police officer, the police said.
Protesters wielding signs that demanded "End the Fed" and other anti-Wall St slogans marched up Fifth Avenue near Union Square on Saturday, drawing a significant police presence and snarling traffic in the neighborhood.
The group, which has been protesting in Lower Manhattan since last Saturday, is comprised of activists critical of corporate influence over politics and demanding higher taxes on high-income individuals.
Earlier this week, one of the organizers of the event told WNYC that demonstrators were inspired by the Arab Spring, as well as pro-labor crowds in Madison, Wisc., earlier this year.
With reporting by Chris Bannon and Arun Venugopal
(Photos: courtesy of Sam Lewis)
(Photos: Protesters near Union Square on Saturday, September, 24, 2011. Chris Bannon/WNYC.)
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