OWS Reclaims Union Square After Early Morning Arrests

Several Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested early Wednesday as the movement gathered in Union Square Park. The protesters marched uptown after NYPD closed off their former encampment at Zuccotti Park, where they celebrated the movement's six month anniversary on Saturday night. In total, six protesters were taken into custody on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to obstructing governmental administration, according to the NY Times.

More than 100 police officers swept through Union Square as hundreds of protesters prepared to sleep in the park on Tuesday. According to the live updates on the Occupy Wall Street website, at around 4 a.m., police rushed the crowd, shoving and attacking people. Authorities also confiscated books and pamphlets distributed by protesters, claiming the literature to be unattended property. The police eventually closed the park to the public in order to clean the area.

Many protesters spent the night sleeping on the sidewalks around the park, as police barricaded the area. However police were quick to order those lying down to get up on account of the fact that they were obstructing traffic.

According to civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel, some public parks, including Union Square, have a 1 a.m. curfew. However, the curfew is rarely enforced. Regardless, the protesters reclaimed the park at around 6 a.m., when the park was reopened to the public for the day.

As protesters rushed back into the park, they changed This is what a victory looks like, and All day, all week, Occupy Wall Street.