U.S. police arrests 46 Occupy protesters in Boston

Xinhua, December 11, 2011

U.S. police arrested 46 Occupy protesters in Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday in a raid on their encampment, bringing to an end the 10-week protest in the city.

Hundreds of Boston police officers swooped down on the encampment on the Dewey Square early Saturday, two days after Mayor Thomas Menino issued a notice of eviction. Police torn down tents and made arrests of protesters who refused to leave, the Occupy Boston movement said in a statement posted to its Twitter account.

Boston police spokesperson Elaine Driscoll said that the operation started at 5 a.m. local time, and the arrests were made as two dozen protesters sat down with linked arms to defy the eviction order.

The police operation lasted for about an hour, during which no major violent clashes occurred. The Occupy Boston movement, which originated from New York's Occupy Wall Street movement to protest corporate greed and lack of jobs, has called for a vigil to be held Saturday evening on the Boston Common, the central public park in Boston.

In a Twitter statement, the Occupy Boston movement also urged American supporters of the Occupy movement to set up a tent on the porch or front yard of their homes to protest the government which "has been unjustly occupied by big banks."