177 Occupy Wall Street Protesters Arrested

By RICHARD ESPOSITO, ALAN FARNHAM and SUSANNA KIM, ABCNews.com

New York City activists, angry at having been evicted from their encampment, began a “Day of Action” Thursday in an attempt to disrupt the New York Stock Exchange and transit in the city. Police arrested about 177 Occupy Wall Street protesters by the end of the day for actions like obstructing traffic and resisting arrests, officials say.

One protester who was arrested threw a liquid that stung, possibly vinegar, in the faces of officers, said police.

Protest organizers claim today’s events, falling on the two-month anniversary of the Occupy movement, will be their biggest yet. A New York City deputy mayor said yesterday that officials are bracing for the possibility that thousands may try to clog subways and bridges. Occupy protesters in other US cities are also planning disruptions.

“Otherwise it was orderly, with employees and residents using IDs to enter Wall St in vicinity of the exchange,” said one senior New York City official, after the NYSE opened without incident. At nearby Zuccotti Park, police in riot gear held back a crowd of several hundred protesters.

Christopher Guerra, who formerly worked at the “information desk” at Zuccotti Park before protesters were evicted, gathered with others near the stock exchange.

“I say we shut the whole country down,” Guerra said.

The group in a news release announced it would rally near the New York Stock Exchange, then head to subways and march over the Brooklyn Bridge. “Resist austerity. Rebuild the economy. Reclaim our democracy,” the group wrote.

To read more, visit:  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/occupy-wall-street-plans-largest-protest-movement/story?id=14963565#.TsrliD0k6so

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