Having forcibly evicted encamped protesters from Zuccotti Park this morning, the city of New York is making sure the Occupy Wall Street movement stays out for good.
A New York Supreme Court just upheld the city’s decision to keep protesters out of the park, reports CNN. The order states that protesters can visit the park, but they may not have tents or camping supplies.
Late Tuesday afternoon, that ruling hadn’t seemed to reach Zuccotti Park, where police were monitoring the park to ensure nobody entered. A photo by Wall Street Journal reporter shows yellow crime-scene tape everywhere.
“#OWS protester: “the cops have occupied Zuccotti Park, we’re just trying to figure out what their demands are,” tweeted Adrian Parsons. (Daily Dot readers will remember Parsons from our interview with him last month.)
Protestors have taken their discouraged feelings to Twitter. As emotions run high, comparisons to Syria, a country in which the US supports anti-government protesters, are becoming common.
“The reporters on CNN reported that they are NOT allowed into Zucotti Park to cover the news, which means the U.S. is now #Syria. #OWS,” tweeted @DrGoddess.
“How can the USA hold its head high and tell Syria what to do when it uses violence against its own people? #ows #nyc,” tweeted @ric_harvey.
The news about the court ruling is only the latest of what many on Twitter consider to be the city’s injustices against protesters today. There’s plenty of outrage over the police’s supposed destruction of the protesters’ camp library. (Fortunately, this rumor turned out to be false; the New York mayor’s office posted a picture of the library’s contents being held for return to its owners.)
The legal setback may not be enough to send protesters home. While they can’t bring their supplies with them, they will be allowed back in the park within minutes.
“#OWS always said that it was an occupation, not a permitted picnic,” tweeted Gawker writer Adrian Chen. “Now’s their chance to prove it for real.”
Photo by Lisa Fleisher