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Occupy Times Square: Occupy Wall Street Protesters Swarm Midtown (PHOTOS)
First Posted: 10/15/11 06:34 PM ET Updated: 10/15/11 09:54 PM ET
NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Thousands of anti-Wall Street protesters rallied in New York's Times Square on Saturday, buoyed by a global day of demonstrations in support of their monthlong campaign against corporate greed.
Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, protests on Saturday started in Asia and rippled through Europe back to the United States and Canada. Protesters fed up with economic inequality took to the streets in cities from Washington, Boston and Chicago to Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto.
(SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS AND LATEST UPDATES)
After weeks of intense media coverage, the size of the U.S. protests on Saturday have been smaller than G20 meetings or political conventions yielded in recent years. Such events often draw tens of thousands of demonstrators.
In New York, where the movement began when protesters set up camp in a Lower Manhattan park on Sept. 17, organizers said the protest grew to at least 5,000 people as they marched to Times Square from their makeshift outdoor headquarters.
"These protests are already making a difference," said Jordan Smith, 25, a former substance abuse counselor from San Francisco, who joined the New York protest. "The dialogue is now happening all over the world."
The protesters chanted, "We got sold out, banks got bailed out" and "All day, all week, occupy Wall Street." They arrived in Times Square at a time when the area is already crowded with tourists and Broadway theatergoers.
"This is disgusting" said Anatoly Lapushner, who was shopping with his family at Toys R Us in Times Square. "Why aren't they marching on Washington and the politicians? Instead they go after the economic lifeblood of the city."
PARTY MOOD IN NEW YORK
American protesters are angry that U.S. banks are enjoying booming profits after getting bailouts in 2008, while many people are struggling in a difficult economy with more than 9 percent unemployment and little help from Washington.
Some were disappointed the New York crowd was not larger.
"People don't want to get involved. They'd rather watch on TV," said Troy Simmons, 47, who joined demonstrators as he left work. "The protesters could have done better today ... people from the whole region should be here and it didn't happen."
The Times Square mood was akin to New Year's Eve, when the famed "ball drop" occurs. In a festive mood, protesters were joined by throngs of tourists snapping pictures, together counting back from 10 and shouting, "Happy New Year."
Police said three people were arrested in Times Square after pushing down police barriers and five men were arrested earlier for wearing masks. Police also arrested 24 people at a Citibank branch in Manhattan, mostly for trespassing.
Citibank was not immediately available for comment.
At about 8 p.m., police arrested 42 people for blocking the sidewalk. Protesters complained they had no place to go with a wall of police in riot gear in front of them and thousands of demonstrators behind them leaving Times Square.
Five thousand people marched through the streets of Los Angeles and gathered peacefully outside City Hall.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has been gathering steam over the past month, culminating with Saturday's action. The protests worldwide were mostly peaceful apart from Rome, where the demonstration sparked riots.
But it was unclear if the movement, which has been driven using social media, would sustain momentum beyond Saturday. Critics have accused the group of not having clear goals.
In Toronto, a couple of thousand people gathered peacefully and started to set up a camp in one of the city's parks. Protesters in Washington marched through the streets.
"I am going to start my life as an adult in debt and that's not fair," student Nathaniel Brown told Reuters Television. "Millions of teenagers across the country are going to start their futures in debt, while all of these corporations are getting money fed all the time and none of us can get any."
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.
Latest updates on HuffPost's live blog:
3:16 AM – Today
'We Are The 99%,' L.A. Marchers Chant At Protest
From The Los Angeles Times:
Marchers carried signs reading "Corporations are not people" and "Trickledown made us pee-ons." Some protesters railed against war, but what emerged as a unifying sentiment was that middle-class and poor Americans are being hurt at the hands of greedy corporate profiteers and politicians.
"Banks are sitting on money, and my house is under water," said Sharon Stewart, 65, a retired USC worker who lives part time in Phoenix. "I'm frightened about Medicare and Social Security. Children and grandchildren are being negatively impacted by the economic crisis."
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2:22 AM – Today
Occupy Orlando Demonstrators Continue To Protest Overnight
From The Orlando Sentinel:
In Orlando, the police-escorted march began at Senator Beth Johnson Park, weaved along Orange Avenue to City Hall and then headed back to the park along Garland Avenue. Some protesters lingered at the park until it closed at 11 p.m., then moved to nearby sidewalks, where they said police had told them it would be OK to continue their rally overnight until the park reopens at 6 a.m. Sunday.
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2:17 AM – Today
Arrests Expected At Washington Square Park In NYC
| @ NYScanner : Manhattan: Washington Square Park, NYPD Notified the protesters the park closed midnight. Multiple arrests will be made. #occupywallstreet |
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1:25 AM – Today
Arrests At Occupy Fort Worth
| @ OccupyDallas : Arrests have been made at #OccupyFortWorth & we've sent legal & fellow #Occupiers from #OccupyDallas will be joining y'all soon! #StayStrong |
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1:24 AM – Today
Activists Call For More 'Bodies' At Washington Square Park In NYC
| @ OccupyWallStNYC : If yr not already at Washington Sq pk, come to #libertysquare ! We need more bodies! #15oct #ows #usdor |
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1:23 AM – Today
The View From Washington Square Park In NYC
Several reporters and
activists report via Twitter that Washington Square Park may see mass
arrests tonight. Here is a picture of the scene there:
-- Photo by Ismail Khalidi
-- Photo by Ismail Khalidi
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1:21 AM – Today
Occupy Toronto Draws 2,000 Activists
Via The Star:
Roughly 2,000 protesters filled St. James Park in downtown Toronto Saturday, heralding the arrival of the Occupy Wall Street movement to Canadian cities.
Similar protests, all based on ideologically nebulous goals, were also held in Vancouver and Montreal on Saturday. The protests were initially called for by the Vancouver-based activist group Adbusters.
“Today they’ve shown that people do care,” Occupy Toronto committee member Taylor Chelsea said of the protesters and activists who gathered to support disparate causes such as First Nations rights, Palestinian liberation and the legalization of marijuana.
“We’re starting to see people realize we are active and we are actively coming to need each other, learn from each other, get informed on the opinions and what’s going on.”
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1:20 AM – Today
Occupy Chicago Moves To Grant Park
Via the Chicago Tribune
The Occupy Chicago protest moved its focus from LaSalle Street to an area in Grant Park Saturday night.
A crowd of about 2,000 people marched from LaSalle Street and Jackson to Congress Plaza, north of Congress Parkway and east of Michigan Avenue, continuing the 3-week-old protest against corporate corruption, government spending and myriad other issues.
Bearing homemade signs, American flags and printed banners, the crowd settled in the plaza to listed to a variety of speakers, while some participants erected tents and set up sleeping bags.
"Look at what we did!" shouted one speaker. "The corporations control the government and the wealth but we have the greatest power of all: the power of the people!"
"This is our Tahrir Square," said another speaker, referencing the protests in Egypt as part of what has been called the Arab Spring. "We're not going to take it anymore! We're going to take these streets!"
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11:37 PM – Today
Citibank Releases Statement Over Protester Arrests:
They blame NYPD:
Citibank Public Affairs issued the following statement regarding today's incident: "A large amount of protesters entered our branch at 555 La Guardia Place around 2:00 PM today. They were very disruptive and refused to leave after being repeatedly asked, causing our staff to call 911. The Police asked the branch staff to close the branch until the protesters could be removed. Only one person asked to close an account and was accommodated."
To be clear: no one was arrested for closing an account; we didn't lock people in our branch - the police decided to close the branch; and we didn't ask for anyone to be arrested - that is a police decision.
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11:06 PM – Today
OWS Considering Takeover Of Washington Square Park?
| @ 99Brett : General Assembly is now beginning in Washington Square Park. The big question: occupy the park? #Oct15 #OWS |
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11:05 PM – Today
Occupy Orlando Facing Police Crackdown
On Twitter and Facebook Occupy Orlando has sent out a message
for more protesters as the police are making noise about shutting them
down. The message on Facebook: "There is a legal situation with police
at park."
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10:45 PM – 10/15/2011
Occupy Chicago Faces Curfew
| @ OccupyChicago : CPD telling us there is an 11pm curfew. we need numbers to keep them back. now is the time, #Chicago! stand with the 99% and #campoutchi! #ows http://t.co/zg0SxhK8 |
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10:39 PM – 10/15/2011
Occupy Providence Digs In
Via AP:
The Occupy Wall Street movement made its mark Saturday in Rhode Island, as well over 1,000 protesters with the group Occupy Providence marched peacefully through the capital city then set up camp in a city park. Activists young and old, some with children riding on their shoulders, took to downtown streets to the beat of drums and a marching band and carrying signs, including ones that read "The System Stinks" and "Wake up from the American Dream."
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10:38 PM – 10/15/2011
More From Times Square
The New York Post has footage from Times Square:
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10:31 PM – 10/15/2011
Why Protests No Longer Need CNN
Cable is out. Livestreaming is in. So says the New York Times:
Organizers in New York City also used their Global Revolution channel on Livestream to deliver live video feeds of the protests in New York. A stream of comments about the global protests from users around the world could be found on this channel, along with links to videos and livestreams of protests. The online conversation about the Occupied Wall Street movement has been steadily growing on social media platforms in recent weeks and increased among global users in the last week as the planned day for demonstrations around the world approached on Saturday.
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10:28 PM – 10/15/2011
Occupy Dallas March Drew Hundreds
According to the organization's website:
Dallas Police estimate that over 350 people attended the OccupyDallas solidarity march Saturday. The protest was coordinated with occupy movements across the United States as a show of unity between the several hundred occupations currently taking place. One protester, Wendy Crow reported that "As we marched, people were getting out of their cars and joining us." At 1 p.m. Saturday, protesters gathered together at Pioneer Plaza and began the 2 mile march to the Goldman Sachs building.
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10:07 PM – 10/15/2011
70 NYC Arrests
According to the AP, an NYPD
spokesman says 42 were arrested at 46th Street and 6th Avenue. 70
protesters have been arrested in New York today, according to the report.
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10:03 PM – 10/15/2011
Gawker reports on a man who has been tracking Occupy Wall Street protesters for the FBI and NYPD.
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9:34 PM – 10/15/2011
71
The New York Daily News reports that 71 have been arrested in Times Square.
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8:57 PM – 10/15/2011
Dancing In Washington Square Park
HuffPost's Craig Kanalley
arrived in Washington Square Park where people are dancing. A General
Assembly meeting will be held in the park at 10 pm.
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8:50 PM – 10/15/2011
"The Whole World Is Watching"
"The whole world is watching," people chant at 46th street. Police have surrounded a small group of protesters.
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8:46 PM – 10/15/2011
Corporate Messages And #OWS Signs
Mother Jones' Josh Harkinson is on Times Square and tweets on the ironic juxtaposition of #OWS signs and corporate messages.
| @ JoshHarkinson : Corp. media messages in Times Square right now: Tough Love Miami (sitcom); Where there's Pepsi there's music; Dunking Donuts; JVC; NASDAQ... |
|
| @ JoshHarkinson : #OWS msgs @ Times Sq.: No money, no probs; Working Class Heroine; Occupy Change; Stop the Political Gridlock!; We Are Here; Who is My Gov't? |
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8:35 PM – 10/15/2011
Leave The Square Or Face Arrest
People in Times Square are reportedly told to leave the square or face arrest.
A.P. made this photo earlier this evening:
A.P. made this photo earlier this evening:
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8:25 PM – 10/15/2011
"This Is What Democracy Looks Like"
HuffPost's Melissa Jeltsen wrote about half an hour ago from Times Square:
"Crowd is growing in Times Square. Lots of cops at 44th and Broadway. Sound of drums, people chanting, 'show me what democracy looks like, this is what democracy looks like.' Big media presence. There are people of all ages here -- young children on parents' shoulders, as well as elderly protesters. The ABC banner keeps showing 'Occupy Wall Street movement goes worldwide,' much to people's delight. No violence or altercations with police that I can see. One person tried to start a chant, "we're not cattle, let's do battle," and another protester said no -- no battles. The chant was discontinued."
"Crowd is growing in Times Square. Lots of cops at 44th and Broadway. Sound of drums, people chanting, 'show me what democracy looks like, this is what democracy looks like.' Big media presence. There are people of all ages here -- young children on parents' shoulders, as well as elderly protesters. The ABC banner keeps showing 'Occupy Wall Street movement goes worldwide,' much to people's delight. No violence or altercations with police that I can see. One person tried to start a chant, "we're not cattle, let's do battle," and another protester said no -- no battles. The chant was discontinued."
