Update: For the latest news on this story please see Allison Kilkenny’s Uprising blog.
A large number of New York Police Department riot police have moved in to raid and shut down Occupy Wall Street’s Liberty Plaza Park. It seems this was an action planned for the middle of the night, with police acting quickly to barricade the park and prevent anyone getting in or out, including the media.
We’ll have more info as soon as possible, in the meantime here is the livestream, currently alternating between feeds from inside and outside the park:
Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com
Update, 2AM ET: “Looks like cops have park blocked off a block away in all directions,” says Mother Jones’ Josh Harkinson, who is tweeting from close to the scene. This is reportedly a common experience for journalists trying to get in to Liberty Plaza Park - and presumably also true for any legal observers.
The reports of media treatment are already disturbing. Melissa Gira Grant says:
“Reporter on WBAI asking officer why he can’t observe, cites NY state law permitting journalists w/ 3 feet distance. Was pushed by cop.”
More alarming still are the tweets from AlterNet’s Kristen Gwynne:
“Holy shit this [is] crazy pepper spray, pushing us, beating and arresting peaceful protestors… They’re literally pushing us down cortlandt. Violent cops… Spitting pepper spray out of my mouth. No reason for that.”
Ryan Devereaux from Democracy Now! describes the scene at the camp:
“Managed to get up to the Square, legions of police detroying the Liberty Plaza. Throwing everything into piles… The NYPD is now tearing, literally ripping and tearing, the safer spaces tent down. The tent intended to make women feel safer.”
J.A. Myerson says:
“I am literally watching cops destroy people’s property without having allowed them time to remove it.”
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Joe Macaré is a writer, editor and development and communications professional, originally hailing from the UK and now residing in Chicago. His writing has appeared at In These Times, TruthOut, AlterNet, Dazed and Confused, The Times, Plan B and Stylus. He has appeared on WBEZ radio and Chicago Newsroom to discuss his extensive coverage of the Occupy Chicago movement.
