Crackdown: Police have promised to get tough on protesters. At least 10 were arrested Friday outside Bank of America in downtown Manhattan
Thousands of anti-greed protesters invaded Washington Square Park today, vowing to fan the flames of dissent and putting them toe-to-toe with cops ready to enforce a curfew.
The estimated 3,000 people flooded the iconic park compared themselves to the "Arab Spring" demonstrations that have toppled totalitarian governments in the Middle East.
One speaker urged the crowd -- that hooted and waved hands instead of clapping -- to squat in empty or abandoned buildings and declared, "they have theird debts and we have our revolution."
“There are foreclosed homes, empty school buildings that should be made available to all,” she said. "Occupy everything."
Cops kept a close eye on the protest but there were no reports of violence or arrests. Police fenced off grassy areas in the park, and erected 10-foot high chain link fences around public bathrooms before the march from Zuccotti Park to Washington Square began.
Group spokesman Patrick Bruner said there were no plans to force a confrontation with police that appear determined to enforce a curfew and prevent protesters from camping out there as they have done for weeks at Zuccotti Park.
But another organizer, Justine Tunney, 26, was more blunt.
“We plan to stay in Washington Square Park and form a second permanent occupation,” she said.
The NYPD said it hadn’t issued any permits for today’s rally.
Bruner said demonstrators have never applied for a permit -- and don’t plan to.
“We dont’ think it’s right that you need permission to peacefully assemble,” he said, quoting the First Amendment. “Permits aren’t necessary.”
The protesters are angry about the 2008 Wall Street bailout that they say allowed banks to reap huge profits while average Americans suffered high unemployment and job insecurity.
Last Saturday, 700 people were arrested when thousands of the protesters tried to trek across the Brooklyn Bridge and spilled onto the roadway.
On Wednesday, about 5,000 people marched on Wall Street, the biggest rally so far. Dozens more were arrested.
The demonstrators are also campaigning against other social and economic inqualities, including the gap between rich and poor, as well as what they regard as a corrupt political system.
The protest movement has also spread to cities from one coast to the other, including Tampa, Fla., and Seattle, Wash.
Politicians have taken note: On Thursday President Obama acknowledged the frustration and anger of the protesters.
And Gov. Cuomo has also said he understands the anger being felt by the protesters, but had to balance that with the economic importance of Wall Street to the state.
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