Quote:
New York (CNN) -- Police in full riot gear moved in to New York's Zuccotti Park early Tuesday morning, evicting hundreds of protesters from the site where the Occupy call to action began two months ago before spreading globally.
Dozens of protesters who had camped out at the Lower Manhattan park since September 17 linked arms in defiance. Many chanted, "Whose park? Our park" and "You don't have to do this."
Police arrested at least 14 people, said Kanene Holder, a spokeswoman for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Authorities did not immediately provide figures.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office said the move is temporary.
"Occupants of Zuccotti should temporarily leave and remove tents and tarps. Protestors can return after the Park is cleared," the mayor's office said in a tweet at 1:34 a.m.
About 10 minutes later, the eviction began.
Police handed out notices from the park's owner, Brookfield Office Properties, that said the continued occupation posed a health and fire hazard.
"You are required to immediately remove all property, including tents, sleeping bags and tarps from Zuccotti Park," the note said. "That means you must remove the property now."
The Occupy Wall Street website video streamed the eviction under a banner headline that read, "NYPD is raiding Liberty Square." Liberty Square is the former name of the park.
While many protesters left without resisting, many others moved to the center of the park to an area known as the kitchen. There, they built barricades with tables to keep police away.
The air was thick with smoke, which some protesters said was from teargas that officers lobbed.
Others said officers took thousands of books from the camp's makeshift library and tossed them in Dumpsters.
"In an immense show of force, police have shown their presence," Holder said. "I've seen how agitated the police are and some pushing and shoving to remove us."
CNN could not confirm those accounts, as police kept journalists a block and a half away from the park during their raid.
Dozens of protesters who had camped out at the Lower Manhattan park since September 17 linked arms in defiance. Many chanted, "Whose park? Our park" and "You don't have to do this."
Police arrested at least 14 people, said Kanene Holder, a spokeswoman for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Authorities did not immediately provide figures.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office said the move is temporary.
"Occupants of Zuccotti should temporarily leave and remove tents and tarps. Protestors can return after the Park is cleared," the mayor's office said in a tweet at 1:34 a.m.
About 10 minutes later, the eviction began.
Police handed out notices from the park's owner, Brookfield Office Properties, that said the continued occupation posed a health and fire hazard.
"You are required to immediately remove all property, including tents, sleeping bags and tarps from Zuccotti Park," the note said. "That means you must remove the property now."
The Occupy Wall Street website video streamed the eviction under a banner headline that read, "NYPD is raiding Liberty Square." Liberty Square is the former name of the park.
While many protesters left without resisting, many others moved to the center of the park to an area known as the kitchen. There, they built barricades with tables to keep police away.
The air was thick with smoke, which some protesters said was from teargas that officers lobbed.
Others said officers took thousands of books from the camp's makeshift library and tossed them in Dumpsters.
"In an immense show of force, police have shown their presence," Holder said. "I've seen how agitated the police are and some pushing and shoving to remove us."
CNN could not confirm those accounts, as police kept journalists a block and a half away from the park during their raid.
Just some thoughts on it:
1. Full riot gear? Just go in and arrest them if they're breaking the law.
2. Midnight? Kinda sketchy timing. Probably wanted the darkness because of the...
3. Media blackout? All journalists were kept away from the park, and only allowed to take pictures of the "mess" after all the protesters were out. Note that the mess came after tearing down all of the tents/tarps/library/kitchen area.
It was a calculation from Bloomberg, IMO. He looks tough on the OWS, but lets them return so he can't be fully decried by the protesters, and this gives them an excuse to stay inside as it gets cold. Protests can continue in the spring when people can stay outside without freezing to death. Not a bad move all around, but shutting the media out and carrying out a midnight raid in riot gear leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.
I'm curious where you're getting this from, or if you were there. All I've read so far said a midnight deadline, and then the eviction happened within a few hours. All the video I've seen is from long before the sun came up.