Occupy Wall Street - update

Mass arrests at Occupy Wall Street protests

BBC,

Occupy Wall Street demonstrators are moving to New York's Brooklyn Bridge to top a day of protest that has seen solidarity rallies across the US.

Activists attempted to "occupy" New York subway stations during rush hour after they marched through the financial district earlier.

About 175 people were arrested in clashes with riot police as trouble flared near the stock exchange.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said five policemen had minor injuries.

In lower Manhattan on Thursday evening, protesters began converging on the Brooklyn Bridge, and more than a thousand protesters had gathered in Union Square, chanting in favour of increased funding for public education.

New York police were out in force, penning in protesters with barricades and ordering marchers across lower Manhattan to stay on the pavement rather than walk in traffic lanes.

Brandon Watts lies injured

In rallies across the US on Thursday held to mark two-months since the start of Occupy Wall Street:

Los Angeles police arrested 20 people who sat in a street as hundreds marched downtown

City officials in Dallas evicted a protesters' camp there, arresting 18

Arrests were made in Portland, Oregon, as activists tried to "occupy" a city centre Wells Fargo bank branch

The day's events began with demonstrators converging on the edge of New York's financial district.

They were unable to get past junctions blocked by police, and as scuffles broke out some of them were dragged away by officers.

Some people were arrested after they sat down at an intersection, while others were detained as they tried to get closer to the stock exchange.

"All day, all week, shut down Wall Street!" the crowd chanted.

Frustrations boiled over in Zuccotti Park, the cradle of the nationwide movement, as hundreds of people tried to remove barricades surrounding the area and scuffled with baton-wielding officers.

In a news conference, Mayor Bloomberg said one policeman's hand was cut and four others had liquid - possibly vinegar - thrown at them.

Gene Williams, a bond trader, told the Associated Press he empathised with the demonstrators.

"They have a point in a lot of ways," he said. "The fact of the matter is, there is a schism between the rich and the poor and it's getting wider."

The day's events were planned before Tuesday's surprise pre-dawn raid of Zuccotti Park, where demonstrators had camped since mid-September. Police allowed them to return but banned them from setting up camp again.

Some of the 200 protesters detained during that eviction appeared in court on Wednesday.

A number of similar encampments have been removed in US cities in recent days.

Scores of arrests were made as police removed tents in Oakland, California and Burlington, Vermont.

But evictions went peacefully elsewhere, including Atlanta, Georgia; Portland, Oregon; and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Guardian is providing a live blog of events AVAILABLE HERE