Thousands joined a march and rally in Washington Park in New York as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. On October 8 thousands were still staying in a park near the financial district., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Protesters March to Washington Square Park
By ANDREW GROSSMAN and LISA FLEISHER
Associated Press
Occupy Wall Street protesters gather in Washington Square Park Saturday.
The anti-corporate protesters who have taken over a Lower Manhattan park for three weeks moved north Saturday in a large march to Washington Square Park.
It marked the second mass demonstration in a New York City park in the past week for the protest movement that has called itself Occupy Wall Street. The crowd on Saturday filled much of the central part of Washington Square Park, and protesters held a meeting they called a "general assembly."
Unlike the two previous Saturdays, when mass arrests took place, this one was largely peaceful. As of shortly after 5 p.m., no arrests had been reported, police said.
There was a heavy police presence. Grassy areas of the park that would normally be filled with sunbathers on a sunny Saturday were fenced off. Two blocks east of the park were filled with police vans and motorcycles. Officers, some holding batons, milled around the park's outskirts.
Much of the law-enforcement effort seemed aimed at keeping protesters from setting up a second encampment. Unlike privately owned Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, which has served as the protesters' headquarters and is open 24 hours a day, Washington Square Park is owned by the city and closes at night. Police barricades were set up and attached to the park's fence so they could swing closed.
Protests Spread Across U.S.
More than a thousand people gathered in Veterans Plaza in Indianapolis.
But few protesters seemed equipped or willing to spend the night in Washington Square. At their meeting, organizers discussed relatively mundane topics, like the occupation's various committees. It ended with some shouting some of what the group would like to see: "A world where people are not commodities...a world where attaching value to our natural environment doesn't lead to its destruction...a world without hierarchy and oppression."
Then there was a call to action: "Act now, but remember to have patience in this process, and with each other...Occupy everything."
By 6 p.m., a steady stream of people headed south, back to Zuccotti Park, where a second General Assembly was scheduled for 7 p.m. Some were chanting "All day, all night. Occupy Wall Street."
The protesters began Saturday night to move toward a more organized structure. During an 8 p.m. meeting in Zuccotti Park, the group proposed creating an informal government called a "spokes-council." Representatives from the assemblage's many working groups -- which cover everything from media affairs to food to education on the federal deficit -- would report to the council and confer on decisions. The draft proposal distributed encourages the working groups to rotate the people they send as "spokes."
"Our movement has surpassed our wildest expectations," said Craig Stephens, 24 years old, one of the organizers.
Mr. Stephens said the movement started with one demand -- freedom -- but that it is changing. The group will meet at 1 p.m. Sunday to discuss the proposal for organization, according to the draft.
Write to Andrew Grossman at andrew.grossman@wsj.com
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