‘Occupy’ arrests snare dozens

PORTLAND – Dozens of anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested Sunday in Texas, where they clashed with police over food tables, and in Oregon, where officers dragged them out of a park in an affluent neighborhood.

In New York and many other East Coast cities, it was a snowstorm that was making it difficult for demonstrators to stay camped out in public places.

The “Occupy” movement, which began six weeks ago in lower Manhattan to decry corporate influence in government and wealth inequality, has spread to cities large and small across the country and around the world.

In Portland, police have allowed protesters to sleep in two parks surrounded by office buildings despite policies outlawing camping, but Mayor Sam Adams warned demonstrators last week that he would not allow them to take over any more parks. Late Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered in another park – Jamison Square in the wealthy Pearl District – and defied a midnight curfew.

About 30 people who had decided to risk arrest sat on the ground as other protesters walked around them and chanted “Whose Park? Our Park!” and “Make No Arrests.”

When police moved in around 2 a.m., all but the sitting protesters backed off. There was no violence during the arrests, which took about 90 minutes.

The protesters – all appearing to be in their 20s and 30s with many wearing Halloween-style face paint – were handcuffed and taken away in police vans.

Police said the charges included criminal trespassing, interfering with a police officer and disorderly conduct.

Police in Austin, Texas, made 39 arrests early Sunday as they moved to enforce a new rule banning food tables in the City Hall plaza where protesters have camped out. Some protesters surrounded the tables with arms linked.

Most were charged with criminal trespass, police Chief Art Acevedo said. No injuries were reported.