Cops arrest some Wall Street protesters

PEACEFUL PROTESTS in New York City have been assaulted but not broken by the New York Police Department (NYPD) bent on pepper spraying, silencing and arresting activists.

The US mainstream media is mostly silent on the protests, which have extended into a second week, and alternative media sources have been silenced by the police, according to the groups.

"NYPD is specifically targeting the media team! Another media team member detained! #OccupyWallStreet," reads one Twitter post from the Anonops account.

Videos are coming out of the area, however, and one shows a group of women being fenced in by the NYPD and then pepper sprayed. In nearly all of the posted videos we have seen, this heavy handedness and the orange fence are present.

"The orange net is at the park! Stay Strong Stay Together! expect more arrests - #OccupyWallStreet," warned Anonops, while in one video a protester warns the police against dehumanising protesters just before we see a protester being dragged off screaming.

Although a Day Of Vengeance was planned in support of the protesters, this did not happen. The event, which would have seen hacks carried out in support of the physical sit-ins, was to happen on Saturday, but reading between the lines it looks like the organiser behind them was detained by the police.

"My sincerest apologies for not making a statement for #DayOfVengence. I have been preoccupied, to say the least," wrote the representative of the Peoples Liberation Front, PLF2012.

According to Anonops the police are arresting people in groups, and in one sweep managed to shut down a media team responsible for a live stream of the events. "The media team was arrested, the streaming will not return. Very sad," it wrote. However video streaming was later restored and continues to show people being arrested.

The protesters have likened the protest to the Arab Spring seen earlier this year in Egypt. However New York in Winter is likely to have harsher weather than protestors found in that country during the Spring. With reports coming in that the NYPD has banned umbrellas as fire risks, while tents are also banned, the Wall Street protesters could face some tough times ahead. And not just from the cops. µ