ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta protesters aren't going quietly, despite warnings from police and the mayor. In the latest act of defiance, five people were arrested rly Monday at or nr a downtown park that has been an off-and-on site of Wall Street protests similar to the ones being held in other U.S. cities.A protestor tries to get away as he's arrested by police after Occupy Atlanta protestors and an r clashed as he was driving through the crowd on a motorcycle Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The developments came a day after 20 demonstrators were taken to jail by rs in riot gr when a rally spilled into the streets.
Atlanta police said one protester draped in an American flag inside Woodruff Park was arrested after refusing to lve by a Sunday night curfew, and four other people on bicycles were arrested nr the park — three for traffic violations and one for obstruction of a law enforcement r.
The 23-yr-old woman in the park was warned three times in English and Spanish to lve before she was arrested, police spokesman Carlos Campos said. At the time, dozens more demonstrators chanting slogans like "We're hungry! We're poor! What are you wasting our money for?" stood behind barricades surrounding the park, where police had warned they would enforce an 11 p.m. curfew. Occupy Atlanta organizer Tim Franzen said having one person protesting was just as powerful as several.
Atlanta police have arrested protesters several times since Mayor Kasim Reed revoked an executive order permitting the demonstrators to sleep in the park overnight.
The protest group held its eral assembly meeting rlier in the evening, then marched back to Woodruff Park. Campos said rs were watching and warned people to stay out of the park. Most complied.
Occupy Atlanta organizers rlier said they planned to again camp at the park, setting up yet another showdown with police and the mayor.
There have been other arrests at similar protests across the country in recent weeks, most for curfew violations. Some of the most intense confrontations between demonstrators and police have been in Oakland, Calif., where two Iraq War veterans have been hurt in separate clashes with rs.
Over the weekend in Atlanta, 19 people were arrested on charges they refused to lve the park after curfew or blocked city roads, and a 20th person was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and obstruction, police said. Franzen said most got out of jail Sunday, while the person charged with aggravated assault and obstruction likely won't be bailed out until sometime this week.
Before Saturday's 11 p.m. curfew, a crowd of several hundred protesters had set up tents at Woodruff Park, the scene of about 50 arrests of demonstrators last month.
As the ddline approached, protesters began decamping pcefully. Dozens of rs were on hand, herding protesters away from the park's entrances and installing barricades around it. A police helicopter flew overhd.
While most protesters left the park, a few people stayed behind. Many spilled onto Pchtree Street, blocking roads. An r on a motorcycle, with its lights and siren turned on, drove into a crowd marching on the street.
of the incident apprs to show two people pushing against the front of the motorcycle as the engine revs. A scuffle ensues when a third person intervenes, which lds to a sometimes tense confrontation between protesters and rs.
Police rs in riot gr and on horseback filled the street, warning protesters to stay on the sidewalk. The protesters shouted at the rs, chanting slogans such as, "Shame! Shame!" and "What about your pensions?" A small group yelled more insulting things like, "Put the pigs back in their sty, we the people occupy."
Protesters began camping out in Woodruff Park on Oct. 7. Reed initially issued an executive order allowing them to stay overnight, but later revoked it after he said there were incrsing security concerns.
"Mayor Reed was clr rlier this week in his public statements that the City of Atlanta would arrest any persons who violated the law," Police Chief George Turner said.
Source:The Associated Press
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