'Occupy' protesters clash with NY traders, police

Occupy Wall Street activists clashed Thursday with workers and police outside the New York Stock Exchange, prompting more than 100 arrests on the two-month anniversary of the movement's vocal anti-capitalist campaign. As hundreds linked arms to block access to the NYSE building, one man in a blue business suit wrestled with a protester in a cowboy hat, one of several violent scuffles on a day in which protest organizers vowed a show of force for a movement that has had recent setbacks. Chanting "Wall Street's closed!" "We are the 99 percent" and "Whose street? Our street!," about 1,000 demonstrators engaged in a tense face-off with hundreds of police, including many on horseback outside the iconic exchange. "Over 100 people arrested," a New York Police Department spokeswoman told AFP, although organizers said the figure was twice that. The protests were part of a "Global Day of Action" announced by the website occupywallst.org, with hundreds of demonstrations planned across the United States combined with protests in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Nigeria, Poland and Spain. Police evicted protesters in Los Angeles and Dallas on Thursday, arresting dozens of people. In London, protesters refused to budge as a deadline to leave their camp outside St Paul's Cathedral by 1800 GMT Thursday passed, with the City of London Corporation now expected to start legal action to remove the protesters. Demonstrators at the site, where dozens of tents have been pitched since October 15, erected a banner saying "You can't evict an idea." At least 15,000 protesters also demonstrated in Athens on Thursday against austerity measures demanded by Greece's new unity government. The level of participation in the rallies could provide a clear indication of Occupy Wall Street's clout exactly two months since the movement sprang up to denounce corporate greed and the world's wealthiest "one percent." The day of protest also came after New York police earlier this week cleared out the cradle of the movement, a tent camp erected in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park on September 17. The movement was on the back foot early this week, finding itself with less space to occupy and its future in doubt as security forces tore down protest camps in several other US cities, including Oakland and Portland. In New York, protesters vowed to avenge the evictions by marching on the stock exchange, then rallying on the city's subway and major bridges. While the stock market opened on time at 9:30 am (1430 GMT), protesters managed a 45-minute blockade outside the NYSE. Police eventually intervened to break through, establishing a corridor to escort traders and workers. Amid chaotic scenes, police then moved in to clear the street, and ensuing clashes sent police and protesters clattering to the ground. One man was repeatedly clubbed with a police baton, while several protesters were handcuffed and dragged into police trucks. Several groups split up and moved in different directions, deploying to choke points around lower Manhattan, blocking the area until police could move in and clear it. Up to 2,000 people re-grouped in Zuccotti Park, drumming and clapping while police encircled the area. "We need to show we are bigger than Zuccotti Park, that we are resilient, that we refuse to submit to brutal police tactics," said Jessica Lingel, 28, a librarian from New Jersey. The New York protesters were urged to meet at underground rail hubs "and take our own stories to the trains." Rallies on a major square and outside various courthouses were scheduled for later, followed by a march across bridges, likely meaning the nearby Brooklyn Bridge. At least one exasperated New York cop seemed to concede victory to the protesters. "They've blocked everything off. This is what happens when you kick them out of the park: you stir a hornet's nest," said the officer who would not provide his name. "They wanted to disrupt Wall Street, and they've done it." According to activist group MoveOn, some 463 protests were planned across the country Thursday. But in a survey released Wednesday, Public Policy Polling said it appeared Americans were moving against the Occupy movement, with 45 percent of respondents opposing its goals versus 33 percent in favor. "That now makes the movement less popular than its right-wing counterpart, the Tea Party," which enjoyed 42 percent support, the polling institute said.