Occupy Wall Street Protesters Occupy Cadman Plaza Park (Others Get Arrested On the Brooklyn Bridge)

Hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested Saturday night after police corralled them while they were marching in the car lane of the Brooklyn Bridge. Half of the protesters -- members of the Occupy Wall Street movement --  had kept to the legal walkway and made it to Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn Heights (shown above).

Those who made it to Brooklyn rallied in the park. We were told that some of the protesters went to Brooklyn Bridge Park as well.

The marchers were protesting the Wall Street bailouts, joblessness, foreclosures, and the war. They carried signs saying, "We are the 99%" and "We have been robbed of our future."

This woman's sign says "Our government has failed you."

A person dressed like Death wore a costume that said, "Claim Denied."

This lady's sign reads, "Woman was screwed by Bank of America. (Widow.)"

In the meantime,the police had boxed the car-lane marchers into orange pens. Some protesters said it was the police who had led them onto the roadway, and they trustingly followed them. Others said that provocateurs urged marchers to walk on the roadway with the words, "We can do this the legal way or the illegal way." UPDATE: Police have released video clearly showing that they warned the protesters to get off the roadway or face arrest, but the protesters ignored them, chanting, "Take the bridge!"

As arrests began, some marchers got away from the police by climbing out or backing up.

The Brooklyn Bridge was closed for hours as the police put plastic restraints on protesters' wrists, put them on buses and sent them to various precincts for processing. One cop said that no regular crimes were going to get processed tonight because of all of the protest arrests. Some people estimated 500 protesters were arrested. City buses were brought in after the police buses were all filled.

The protesters yelled up to people on the walkway. They asked if anyone knew they were being arrested. Some of the protesters, who had been on the bridge for hours in the drizzle, said they were cold. An organizer on the bridge walkway said that lawyers had been contacted and would be trying to get them out of jail, and that 20,000 people were watching video of them. The protesters cheered and chanted as the police led them to the buses.

Same Day, Same Bridge, Different Protest

Photos by MK Metz

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