USA: Occupy Wall Street protesters mark one year of demonstrations by taking to the streets of New York's financial district

Record ID: 702496

  • Title: USA: Occupy Wall Street protesters mark one year of demonstrations by taking to the streets of New York's financial district
  • Date: 17th September 2012
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 17, 2012) (REUTERS) OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTER BEING ARRESTED PROTESTERS SHOUTING AT POLICE PROTESTER SHOUTING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS BEING ARRESTED VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS HOLDING SIGNS AND SLEEPING ON SIDEWALKS NEAR ZUCCOTTI PARK PROTESTER CHANTING HUNDREDS OF PROTESTERS GATHERED IN BATTERY PARK VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS HOLDING SIGNS (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMANDA MONTGOMERY, OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTER, SAYING: "Today is Occupy Wall Street's birthday and we are celebrating. We are rising above the corruption and police brutality that could happen, has happened already." (SOUNDBITE) (English) EEO STUBBLEFIELD, OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTER, SAYING: "I myself, had never in all my 57 years seen anything like Zuccotti Park and I personally had been waiting for 10 years for something. I had no idea that the kids were gonna rise up like that and I am so proud of them." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS IN BATTERY PARK
  • Embargoed: 2nd October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAC4M21R5KB1JARMMWFQXCY7NS3
  • Story Text: New York police on Monday (September 17) 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.
    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. They also gathered at nearby Battery Park.
    Several protesters held signs, one saying "Still Here," another reading: "No more Wall Street White House."
    "Today is Occupy Wall Street's birthday and we are celebrating. We are rising above the corruption and police brutality that could happen, has happened already," said Amanda Montgomery, one protester.
    "I myself, had never in all my 57 years seen anything like Zuccotti Park and I personally had been waiting for 10 years for something. I had no idea that the kids were gonna rise up like that and I am so proud of them," added another protester, Eeo Stubblefield.
    The grassroots movement caught the world by surprise last fall with a spontaneous encampment in lower Manhattan that soon spread to cities across North America and Europe.
    Occupy Wall Street briefly buoyed a spirit of U.S. social activism, and drew attention to economic injustice.
    The group sponsored a series of activities over the weekend, attended by crowds that never exceeded the hundreds. New York police arrested about three dozen people at those events.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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