OAKLAND, Calif. — The display of police force in Oakland, Calif., and Atlanta has unnerved some anti-Wall Street protesters.
A 24-year-old Iraq War veteran was critically injured by a projectile that struck him in the head during the chaotic conflict with Oakland police Tuesday night, and demonstrators in other cities wondered whether they could be next.
Will they have to face riot gear-clad officers and tear gas like their counterparts in Oakland faced on Tuesday? Or will they be handcuffed and hauled away in the middle of the night like protesters in Atlanta?
"Yes, we're afraid. Is this the night they're going to sneak in?" said activist William Buster of Occupy Wall Street, where the movement began last month to protest what they see as corporate greed.
Business owners and residents have complained in recent weeks about assaults, drunken fights and sanitation problems. Officials are trying to balance their rights and uphold the law while honoring protesters' free speech rights.
Some of the latest developments in the Occupy protests:
Atlanta
Downtown park closed; 50 protesters arrested
Police on Wednesday closed a downtown Atlanta park where more than 50 Occupy Wall Street demonstrators had been arrested. Mayor Kasim Reed said in a statement that the arrests were made after protesters at Woodruff Park moved from peacefully demonstrating to "increasingly aggressive actions" in recent days. Reed said one man had walked through the park with an assault rifle, and demonstrators had inserted wire hangers into electrical sockets to create additional power sources.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
No one will camp out on Pennsylvania Ave.
A third protest sprang up Wednesday in the nation's capital. Occupy Pennsylvania Avenue will be different from two encampments that have been in place since early October in that participants will not camp out. They plan to leave at night and return every day until "we get change in D.C. at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue," organizer Patrick Schneider said in a statement.
london
Protesters vow to stay outside St. Paul's
Richard Chartres, the bishop of London, says protesters camped outside St. Paul's Cathedral should go home. Protesters pitched tents outside the cathedral 11 days ago. Initially they were invited to stay, but on Friday the building shut its doors to the public, citing health and safety concerns. The protesters say they plan to stay.
oakland, calif.
After police raid, plaza is reopened
Oakland city officials are allowing Occupy Wall Street protesters back into a plaza where police raided and cleared a 15-day-old encampment, but they will continue prohibiting people from spending the night there.Police Chief Howard Jordan says an internal review board and local prosecutors have been asked to determine if officers used excessive force. Reuters reported that Scott Olsen, a former U.S. Marine, was struck in the head on Tuesday night by a tear gas canister fired by police.
CANADA
Protests encouraged at G20 summit
The Vancouver-based anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters has called on members of the Occupy movement to protest on the eve of the Oct. 29 summit of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations in Cannes, France.
DENVER
Snow, hypothermia are no deterrent
About 30 protesters in downtown Denver stacked blankets and sleeping bags near bags of charcoal as they vowed to remain through the season's first snow. Protesters plan to check each other for hypothermia.
pittsburgh
Police called out to PNC bank branch
Police responded to a downtown Pittsburgh PNC bank branch after employees grew concerned when members of the Occupy Pittsburgh movement entered and began filming their attempts to open accounts. Police say the protesters left the bank of their own accord. The branch closed briefly.
orlando
Police seize items from protest at park
A generator, American flag and signs were among items police say they removed from a park where Occupy Orlando protesters have been stationed for more than a week. Police took the items late Tuesday after warning protesters that property had to be removed from the park.
ALBUQUERQUE, n.m
At least 12 arrested at university campsite
More than a dozen protesters were arrested at the University of New Mexico after the school ordered them out of a makeshift campsite at Yale Park.
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