Police dressed in riot gear moved in on protesters camped outside Los Angeles’ City Hall today and arrested more than 200 protesters who refused orders to leave, USA Today reports. It was the same situation in Philadelphia, as riot-suited officers confronted demonstrators, arresting about 50 who refused to clear a street.
After a long evening of anticipation, police moved swiftly just after midnight in Los Angeles in an effort to evict protesters and retake the park surrounding City Hall that for two months has been the campsite of Occupy L.A. demonstrators. Police stood shoulder to shoulder, some carrying batons and with plastic zip-tie handcuffs ready on their belts, as they took up positions through the park and in the streets around it. Police declared the crowd in the park to be an unlawful assembly. A police officer said people who wanted to leave could depart peacefully. They warned that those who remained were subject to arrest.