Occupy Wall Street: 100 arrests at Boston protest

The dispute in Boston took place after police issued a warning to clear the area

Boston police have arrested several Occupy Boston protesters for refusing to leave a newly renovated green space.

The arrests began in the early hours of Tuesday morning as more than 200 policemen, some in riot gear, arrived at the park and gave protesters two minutes to disperse.

Around 100 people were arrested, according to local media reports.

Occupy Boston is protesting in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, now in its fourth week.

More than 100 solidarity events have sprung up in other towns and cities across the US, with activists rallying against what they see as injustices and inequalities in the corporate and financial sectors.

Tying up a city

Boston police say they had warned around 1,000 protesters to stay in Dewey Square and a small, nearby strip of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway a few hours after they occupied the main Greenway area.

In response to the warning, Occupy Boston released a statement calling for "any and all people to join the occupation as soon as possible."

They said: "Occupiers have worked tirelessly to maintain a positive working relationship with city officials. Today's threats by the Boston Police Department represent a sudden shift away from that dialogue."

Police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll told reporters the warning had been issued because the greenway had recently undergone an expensive renovation project.

Many protesters left the greenway and returned to Dewey Square.

The crowds that remained in the greenway were chanting, "The people united will never be defeated" and "This is a peaceful protest" in the minutes before the police moved in, reports say.

The Occupy Wall Street protesters are keeping live web feeds manned throughout the day

The arrests began around 01:20 on Tuesday morning. The National Lawyers Guild says 65 men and 35 women were arrested.

Protesters were individually put on their stomach, cable-tied and dragged off. Police have said nobody was injured.

CNN reported that 60 were held overnight.

But on its website, Occupy Boston called the incident a "brutal attack" on the peaceful demonstrators.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino defended the arrests, while saying he sympathised with the protesters.

"I agree with them on the issues. Foreclosure. Corporate greed. These are issues I've been working on my entire career. But you can't tie up a city," he told Boston.com.

In New York City, where the Occupy Wall Street movement started more than three weeks ago, a march to wealthy areas of the city is planned for Tuesday as a protest against the planned expiration of a "millionaire's tax", due to end in December.

Marchers are planning to visit the homes of News Corporation chief executive Rupert Murdoch, JP Morgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon and oil tycoon David Koch, according to reports.

Thousands of protesters have been camping continuously since 17 September in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan to protest against corporate greed and economic inequality.

There have been a series of marches and rallies in Manhattan, and some large numbers of arrests on 1 October as demonstrators attempted to cross the Brooklyn Bridge.