Police clear out Occupy LA, Philly

Police in riot gear moved in at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday to evict Occupy Wall Street protesters in Los Angeles. In Philadelphia, police moved to disperse protesters around 1 a.m. Since the eviction of the Zuccotti Park encampment, the Los Angeles encampment had become the largest remaining site. The eviction was largely peaceful, with 1,400 police officers making 200 arrests. In Philadelphia, the arrests were around 40, and two officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Occupy LA protesters had sought a federal court injunction to allow them to remain, citing that enforcement of the city’s “anti-camping” rule is left to the whim of police. The City Council has affirmed that demonstrators are within their First Amendment rights, and that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa overstepped his authority in ordering them to leave.