Occupy Wall Street live: march on Times Square

 • Organisers claim 950 protests held in over 80 countries
• Tens of thousands gather in Madrid's central square
• New York protesters bring Times Square to a standstill
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• Read our coverage from earlier today
• All times ET

Occupy Wall Street protesters take part in a demonstration at Times Square in New York. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

12.45pm: Good afternoon and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the Occupy protests. As the focus switches from London to New York, here is a summary of events so far today.

• More than 950 demonstrations against the global financial system and corporate greed are being held in more than 80 countries around the world today. Inspired by the huge rallies organised by 15-M movement in Spain and more recently Occupy Wall Street, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets from as far afield as Seoul and Rome.
• In New York Occupy Wall Street protesters have renewed their protests following yesterday's celebrations after a planned "clean-up" of their camp in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan was called off. A march this afternoon has taken in branches of JP Morgan Chase bank; later, there's a plan to occupy Times Square.
• In London about 1,000 protesters massed outside St Paul's Cathedral in a bid to occupy the London Stock Exchange in the nearby Paternoster Square. But the square was closed off by police and private security and the demonstration remained focused on the steps around the cathedral after attempts to enter failed. Police moved in to contain the crowd and two people were arrested for assaults on officers.
• Wikileaks founder Julian Assange addressed the crowd on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral. He attacked a greedy and corrupt financial and political system that had united individuals from Cairo to London.

12.53pm: Adam Gabbatt writes: Protesters here in New York have been remarking on how the protests have spread to London and other places. 18-year-old Ethan McGarry, who had travelled down from Boston for the day.

He said it was "fantastic" how the occupy movement had spread to the UK and elsewhere. "People identify with us, then hey will find reasons in their own community for action."
Lauren Zygmont had travelled from the Occupy Denver protest to New York a week ago ago. "Borders don't matter at all," she said. "Were all human beings, were all in this together. This is a global movement."
Dave Bonan, who was at OWS on day one, said it was "a little surreal" that the protest had spread. "I didn't expect it to last more than 15 mins," he said. "The fact it lasted more than a day inspired people all over the world to capitalise - no pun intended - on our success."
Bonan said the movement had spread because "folks are angrier, their wallets are getting hit now". Asked if he had a message for protesters elsewhere in the world, he said: "Decentralized movements are mire effective than movements with leaders." He added: "It's good to have our brothers and sisters involved."
Occupy Wall Street protesters outside the Chase bank in New York's financial district. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA

1.21pm: And in New York, it seems the Occupy movement is gathering strength. At one point on Thursday it seemed like it could all be over, when the owners of Zuccotti Park said they planned to clean up the plaza and prevent people from using sleeping bags and other camping gear – in effect, an eviction. The NYPD were standing by to enforce the new rules, leading to fears of an ugly confrontation.

But, after intervention from, among others, New York state senator David Squadron in a late-night call to the Brookfield Properties CEO, the company backed down – and Paul Harris remarks on how the protesters seem newly emboldened.

Today's march seems to show how the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to grow. Last week marchers were told to trickle up to Washington Square for a General Assembly. This week, perhaps emboldened by Friday mornings victory against eviction, they march right through lower Manhattan. The police seem very happy to just escort them. Watching them go through the wealthy TriBeCa neighbourhood it is slightly surreal to see brunching New Yorkers watch the march go by. Some wave and flash peace signs. Most just smile or look bemused. Nearly all take pics on their phone.

1.28pm: Adam Gabbatt, who has been with protesters marching through Lower Manhattan today, thinks there may have been at least 1,000 and possibly 2,000 people on the march, which passed the offices of JP Morgan Chase, taking in a couple of Chase bank branches en route. (The investment bank JP Morgan Chase last year made a huge $4.6m donation to the New York city police federation, and Chase retail bank is number 1 in the foreclosures chart in the US, and is being investigated in New York for allegedly fraudulent foreclosures.)

The march headed north up Broadway, making life difficult for participants of the Avon breast cancer 39.3 mile walk which is taking place today, before heading east to West Broadway and Washington Square park.
A student general assembly took place there at 12 noon, and marchers will gather with their student cohorts ahead of the main event of the day – the 5pm convergence on the iconic Times Square which is being billed by organisers as an opportunity to "take Times Square". It's unlikely we'll see a Zuccotti Park-esque camp springing up, but with the permanently-packed Times Square being one of the most popular tourist spots, it'll certainly be interesting.

Occupy Wall Street protesters listen to speeches in Washington Square. Photograph: Adam Gabbatt/guardian.co.uk

1.31pm: One of the remarkable features of the Occupy movement is how it is now spreading across the world. One of the largest demonstrations today was in Spain – the Guardian's correspondent, Giles Tremlett, has filed this dispatch from Madrid where more than 10,000 people have gathered today.

Spain's Indignados, who started the global protest movement in May, are out in some 60 cities today.
I'm with at least 10,000 marchers who have gathered in the centre of Madrid at the Plaza de Cibeles. More people are arriving all the time as half a dozen different marches converge in a city where austerity measures have included cuts in teachers' numbers.
"Hands up! This is a robbery!" is one of the cries of the peaceful protest on a sunny autumn afternoon.
Marchers are now heading towards the Puerta del Sol, where the global protests started with a massive spontaneous camp out on May 15. It looks like the crowd is now growing considerably.

2.43pm: There are about 1500 protesters in Washington Square Park, New York, listening to speeches, while NYPD officers keep their distance.

Paul Harris reports that the plan is to set off for Times Square at 3pm, earlier than the previously planned 5pm march.

2.49pm: In Madrid, Giles Tremlett has just returned from the huge protest there, where the city's central square is overflowing with people supporting the "indignado" ("the indignant") movement, which has been building throughout this year as Spain's financial woes have mounted.

Thousands of demonstrators gather in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Photograph: Susana Vera/Reuters

Madrid's Puerta del Sol is packed to overflowing this evening (live feed from state television TVE here) as Spain's indignados return to the place where their protests started back in May.
Tens of thousands have filled the plaza and adjoining streets, though there are no official figures yet on numbers. Police in Barcelona estimate that 60,000 people have taken to the streets there and organisers in Seville, southern Spain, believe they have 20,000 people out. With another 60 cities organising protesters, and local news agencies giving numbers in their thousands or tens thousands from several of them, the overall indignado turnout looks set to rise above 200,000.
The protests have been entirely peaceful, with children walking alongside parents and Spain's indignados feeling a sense of pride that their May camp-outs in the Puerta del Sol and dozens of other city squares have helped inspire demonstrators around the globe.
Policing has been light-handed so far. Even though the numbers out on the streets far exceed those in London and most cities around the globe, Spanish police obviously do not feel the need to kettle or use any of the tactics favoured by their counterparts in London or New York.
Helicopters hovering overhead, however, and we won't know exactly how this has played out until late tonight when the protests are over.
They are a warning to Spanish politicians, who are preparing for a November 20 general election, that the indignado movement remains alive and well.

3.10pm: In London, Mark Townsend reports that there have been some scuffles on steps of St Paul's Cathedral as police and protesters clashed. He says riot police now at summit of the steps up to the global landmark. Hundreds of protesters are sat below, and Mark warns of a likely flashpoint ahead.

3.36pm: We've been asking protesters in London and New York what the movements can learn from each other.

Ethan McGarry, 18, who travelled to New York from Boston today, said i was "fantastic" how the Occupy movement had spread to the UK and elsewhere. "People identify with us, then hey will find reasons in their own community for action."
Lauren Zygmont travelled from the Occupy Denver protest to New York a week ago. "Borders don't matter at all," she said. "Were all human beings, were all in this together. This is a global movement."
In Zuccotti Park, Tim, who declined to give his name, had a message for protesters in London and elsewhere: "Let the cops be the bad guy," said Tim who declined to give his last name.
Another long term protest organiser, Chuck Scheid, echoed that theme and stressed the importance of non-violence. "If anyone starts to break windows then isolate them and let the police do their job. Don't give the police an excuse to run full tilt at the crowd," he said.
Ryan Irvan, an American at the London protests, said he desperately hoped the UK Occupy movement could mimic the success of its New York counterparts. Irvan, 26, from Arkansas, said: "It seems more organised from the start, they can go on from here."
Kap, a London protester who intended to stay overnight, has just lost his job in youth services. He said: "This is about building a community from the bottom. We are doing it in solidarity with New York, Syria, everywhere people are rising up against capitalist society. "
James, 32, a protester from south London, said: "The assembly that started here today is based on a methodology that's been going on inspired by the May 15 movement in Spain and is being employed by the occupy groups all over the world now.
Jon Villada, an unemployed 24-year-old from Bilbao, Spain, and a member of the Spanish 15-M protest initiative, said: "For the 15-M movement our main objective is to make politicians understand that they have been elected to govern for us, not for multinationals, markets, financial agents or whatever. This protest is more global, there is people from all around the world and they have focused on financial institutions and powers."
Interviews by Lisa O'Carroll, Adam Gabbatt, Paul Harris, Mark Townsend, Press Association

4.00pm: It's probably been the biggest day of action so far for the occupy and indignado movements around the world. Here's a roundup of some of what's been happening.

Spain

Tens of thousands of people take a part in a demonstration in Puerta del Sol square in Madrid on Saturday, part of the global movement against corporate greed. Photograph: Arturo Rodriguez/AP In Spain, hundreds of thousands of indignados thronged the streets in cities across the country. The biggest demonstration has been at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, which is overflowing with tens of thousands of people. There were 60,000 people in Barcelona, and 20,000 in Seville.
The protests have been entirely peaceful, with children walking alongside parents and Spain's indignados feeling a sense of pride that their May camp-outs in the Puerta del Sol and dozens of other city squares have helped inspire demonstrators around the globe. Giles Tremlett in Madrid

Italy

A protestor hurls a canister clashes in Rome during a demonstration against corporate greed and austerity measures. Photograph: Gregorio Borgia/AP In Rome, hundreds of hooded, masked demonstrators rampaged in some of the worst violence seen in the Italian capital for years, setting cars ablaze, breaking bank and shop windows and destroying traffic lights and signposts.
Police fired volleys of tear gas and used water cannon to try to disperse militant protesters who were hurling rocks, bottles and fireworks, but clashes went on into the evening. Smoke bombs set off by protesters cast a pall over a sea of red flags and banners bearing slogans denouncing economic policies the protesters say are hurting the poor most.
The violence sent many peaceful demonstrators and local residents near the Colosseum and St John's Basilica running into hotels and churches for safety. Reuters in Rome

Germany

In Germany, about 4,000 people marched through the streets of Berlin, with banners calling for an end to capitalism. Some scuffled with police as they tried to get near parliamentary buildings, and the independent media site Demotix posted pictures of protesters being pepper-sprayed by police. In Frankfurt, continental Europe's financial capital, some 5,000 people protested in front of the European Central Bank. Lisa O'Carroll in London

Britain

Occupy London protesters outside St Paul's cathedral Photograph: guardian.co.uk Organisers claimed at least 4,000 joined a demonstration that ended up at St Paul's Cathedral, within London's "Square Mile" financial district. Police made seven arrests and kept the crowd contained in the area. The Wikileaks founder Julian Assange made an appearance, bursting through the police lines just after 2.30pm, accompanied by scores of supporters. To clapping and some booing, he climbed the cathedral steps to condemn "greed" and "corruption". By mid-afternoon seven tents had been erected in bright sunshine outside St Paul's.
Assange aside, perhaps the strangest event of the day came when a bride arrived at the side-chapel in St Paul's. Across the road, scores of police were changing into riot gear as she entered the cathedral. Mark Townsend in London

Asia, Australia and New Zealand

In Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, 3,000 people chanted and banged drums, denouncing corporate greed. About 200 gathered in the capital Wellington and 50 in a park in the earthquake-hit southern city of Christchurch. In Sydney, Australia, about 2,000 people, including representatives of Aboriginal groups, communists and trade unionists, protested outside the central Reserve Bank of Australia.
Hundreds marched in Tokyo, including anti-nuclear protesters. In Manila a few dozen marched on the US embassy waving banners reading: "Down with US imperialism" and "Philippines not for sale".
More than 100 people gathered at the Taipei stock exchange, chanting "we are Taiwan's 99 percent" and saying economic growth had only benefited firms while middle-class salaries barely covered soaring housing, education and health care costs.
In Hong Kong, home to the Asian headquarters of investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, over 100 people gathered at Exchange Square in the Central district. The Correntewire blog has some great pictures of the Honk Kong protests Reuters
• Daisann Mclean has written up the Hong Kong protests here, with colourful pictures by Freeman Lam

4.07pm: There have been a number of arrests in New York. The New York Daily News says its photographer saw 20 people arrested at the Citibank at 555 LaGuardia. There were also reports of a standoff and arrests at Chase Bank at Astor Place, but the Daily News quotes its photographer on the scene saying that about 40 protesters talked about getting arrested and had a brief sit-in before getting up at the last second and avoiding arrest.

4.14pm: Mark Townsend in London writes: There's a party atmosphere developing, with Samba drummers in full flow, protesters dancing on lower steps of St Paul's cathedral. It finally feels that the earlier tension is lifting. However, organisers have just told me that they have received numerous calls from protesters complaining about hyper-ventilating and who were shocked by the earlier scuffles on cathedral steps. "Their only crime was assembling in a peaceful manner," said a spokesman for the London movement.

4.30pm: In New York, Paul Harris has been accompanying the marchers heading for the planned occupation of Times Square, who left Zuccotti Park around 11am today. They made a brief stopoff for speeches and a regroup Washington Square park, where they left at about 3.15pm to continue their journey uptown. He writes:

One interesting impact of today's march from Wall Street to Times Square is that it brings the protest to the rest of the city's streets. The reaction of passers-by and shoppers to seeing the march they gave read about suddenly appear is often priceless. By time they arrive in Times Square the march will have lasted six hours and covered scores of city blocks.

4.50pm: It is illegal for more than two people to wear masks on a demonstration in New York. Paul Harris says that at least five male protesters were just handcuffed and arrested at 27th Street and Sixth Avenue after putting on Guy Fawkes masks. They were put in a van and driven off. Another man was then stopped and friskedm but let go.

5.08pm: In between gossiping about the celebrity and media life of New York, the scurrilous website Gawker does some notworthy journalism. It has just posted a great story under the headline"Meet the Guy Who Snitched on Occupy Wall Street to the FBI and NYPD", detailing the role of "security consultant" Thomas Ryan, who it says has infiltrated the Occupy Wall Street organisers.

Since the Occupy Wall Street protest began on September 17, New York security consultant Thomas Ryan has been waging a campaign to infiltrate and discredit the movement. Ryan says he's done contract work for the U.S. Army and he brags on his blog that he leads "a team called Black Cell, a team of the most-highly trained and capable physical, threat and cyber security professionals in the world." But over the past few weeks, he and his computer security buddies have been spending time covertly attending Occupy Wall Street meetings, monitoring organizers' social media accounts, and hanging out with protesters in Lower Manhattan.
As part of their intelligence-gathering operation, the group gained access to a listserv used by Occupy Wall Street organizers called September17discuss. On September17discuss, organizers hash out tactics and plan events, conduct post-mortems of media appearances, and trade the latest protest gossip. On Friday, Ryan leaked thousands of September17discuss emails to conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, who is now using them to try to smear Occupy Wall Street as an anarchist conspiracy to disrupt global markets.
What may much more alarming to Occupy Wall Street organizers is that while Ryan was monitoring September17discuss, he was forwarding interesting email threads to contacts at the NYPD and FBI, including special agent Jordan T. Loyd, a member of the FBI's New York-based cyber security team.

You can read more here. Interestingly, Gawker says it was Ryan who revealed himself as a snitch. Ryan leaked an archive of emails on Friday in the hope of undermining the Occupy Wall Street movement, but, it appears he accidentally included some of his own forwarded emails in the dump.

5.12pm: Protesters are now arriving at Times Square in New York. This live camera position high above the street gives a great view of the protesters streaming into the plaza. Most of the protesters have been coming up Broadway, which is on the left of the shot.

5.57pm: A large number of protesters have reached Times Square, where they are being kept off the streets behind barriers. Adam Gabbatt reports that a huge cheer goes up when the protest is namechecked on the news tickers that flash above the street.

Occupy Wall Street marchers reach Times Square as the protest is namechecked on news tickers. Photograph: Adam Gabbatt/guardian.co.uk Paul Harris, meanwhile, says there was something of a standoff at 43rd Street, where police were trying to prevent the marchers from going any further. He has now made it up to Times Square, which he says is packed, despite the vast bulk of the march not having reached it yet. Could be a tight squeeze...

6.07pm: What is it with the NYPD and women? They seem to have an instinctive ability to make a hash of the most straightforward of public order situations, particularly involving the world's least threatening ladies.

I mentioned earlier that an occupation of a Citibank branch resulted in a number of arrests (24 at the latest count). One of those picked up, it seems, was a Citibank customer in a smart business suit whose only crime was to attempt to close her account.
Citibank customer arrested for the heinous crime of closing her account In this video (hat tip to Wonkette), about 1'30 in, you can see her emerging from the branch waving her Citibank check book. "I'm a customer, I'm a customer," she says, with some degree of authenticity. What do the NYPD goons do? "Of course madam, do step this way, I'll help you to safety?" No. "YOU WERE INSIDE!" they shout – and despite her showing no apparent attempts to resist, they manhandle her into a side entrance with the respect normally afforded to bank robber, not a customer.

6.19pm: Back to Times Square, which is overflowing into the streets around with thousands of protesters. Paul Harris says it's "total chaos", while Adam Gabbatt reports that riot police have lined up outside the Disney store between 45th and 46th, and that police have blocked 46th street at Seventh Avenue. Some 12 officers on horseback have just arrived: "Not sure why, doesn't seem much need for them. They're just getting in other officers' way," says Adam.

6.48pm: Police have penned protesters in to various sections around Times Square, all of which are bursting at the seams. Josh Harkinson of Mother Jones says on Twitter: "The way that NYPD is handling this is really stupid." He adds: "NYPD should give protesters the street. There's not enough space, and the crowd is agitated because they want to unite into a single group."

6.51pm: Paul Harris estimates the number of people in Times Square to be in excess of 10,000. WNBC is saying 10,000 to 20,000

7.01pm: The corner of 46th Street and Seventh Avenue – in the heart of Time Square – is turning out to be a particular point of tension, writes Adam Gabbatt.

At 46th and Seventh, at least two people have been arrested and in the last 10 minutes some 50 extra police have moved in to reinforce barriers keeping people off the street.
Clashes began after police introduced 12 officers on horseback. They didn't seem to serve any real purpose – soon the crowd was riled and they were being deployed to drive protesters back on the east side of Times Square. There seemed to be confusion within the police about the horses' presence, with officers almost getting caught by hooves as the animals moved around.
Two people were arrested and taken away. Since then a secure van designed to house those arrested has arrived – perhaps suggesting police anticipate more arrests. There's a lot of chanting from the crowd here, along with the occasional, and usually singular, hurling of abuse at police.

7.04pm: Police have closed Seventh Avenue southbound between West 57th and West 46th "due to law enforcement activity".

7.33pm: This video, shot from high above Times Square and uploaded to YouTube, shows the crowds streaming in to the plaza.

Protesters swarm into Times Square, New York

7.03pm: Photographs are starting to come in from the picture agencies, with some dramatic shots at Times Square. This one is shot at ground level.

Demonstrators associated with the Occupy Wall Street' movement protest in Times Square in New York. Photograph: Mario Tam/Getty This one is a view from high above the street.
Demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street rally in New York's Times Square. Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP And this one shows the marchers on their way uptown.
Police officers on scooters follow Occupy Wall Street protestors as they march towards Times Square. Photograph: John Minchillo/AP

8.43pm: While there are still some pockets of tension, the crowd appears to be thinning out at Times Square now.

A police officer arrests an Occupy Wall Street protester during a demonstration at Times Square in New York. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

9.10pm: Police say they have made 70 arrests today. Most of those, 42, were at 46th Street and Sixth avenue, after police say they were warned three times to disperse, but refused. Adam Gabbatt was in the crowd at this point – he escaped arrest and is filing an account shorty.

Earlier, 24 people were arrested at a Citibank branch. A large group of protesters, all of them apparently Citibank customers, had arrived to close their accounts in an "act of peaceful protest". The manager asked them to leave, but they insisted they wanted to close their accounts. Police arrested them – including the woman shown in the video at 6.07pm – for tresspass.

9.25pm: As things start to wind down at Times Square, Paul Harris files his final thoughts after covering the protest all day.

Times Square is emptying out or people are involved in dancing and singing. It's been a remarkable day though. Some 36 hours ago the cops were about to evict the protest from Zuccotti Park. Today, the mass arrests at 46th Street notwithstanding, they escorted thousands of marchers through Manhattan for hours on end and then watched them hold a rally a New York landmark. That's quite something.

Occupy Wall Street participants stage a protest on Times Square in New York. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty

9.42pm: Adam Gabbatt writes: With more than 10,000 people in the area around Times Square, it was probably inevitable that there would be some flashpoints. The main one was at 46th Street. The east side of the street, at Seventh Avenue, was packed with some 500 protesters at around 7.30pm, prompting a police effort to clear it.

Most left quickly, but some dragged their heels prompting police in helmets and with batons drawn to arrive. They formed a line across 46th and physically pushed the crowd west towards Sixth Avenue.
The tactic backfired somewheat when an isolated group of 100 or so – including me – were ordered back along the sidewalk, but we ended up under scaffolding which prevented us from spilling out on to the road. Riot police were pushing from the front, but officers also soon came up behind, blocking off the exit, due to an apparent miscommunication between police. I witnessed police jab protesters with batons in an effort to force them back, but with nowhere to go it simply led to mass confusion.
Along with about 15 others, I escaped by crawling under netting that cordoned off part of the sidewalk. Everyone else was arrested.
Adam Gabbatt crawled under this netting to escape arrest. Those on the other side were detained. Photograph: Adam Gabbatt/guardian.co.uk Among those pushed around on the street was a around a grey-haired woman. I caught up with her later: Barbara Quist, 67, said she was eventually pulled out by police. She said: "At first it was peaceful. But then all hell broke loose. One of them was 3ft ahead of the police line, another guy 2ft ahead. They were extraordinarily aggressive, they used force that wasn't necessary and didn't know how to handle crowds.
"Someone hit me across the back, real hard. Plus they were kneeing us, and kicking us in the back of her heels."
Quist said her back was sore, but she was uninjured. This was her third march with Occupy Wall Street, and she said she has visited Zuccotti Park four times. Quist, who used to work in the pharmaceutical industry but described herself as unemployed, said the treatment would not put her off further action. "I'm just another person that's just been run over by capitalism and greed."

9.53pm: A large group of protesters has headed back to Washington Square, where they are holding what witnesses say is probably the biggest general assembly since the Occupy Wall Street protests started. Police warned protesters that the park closes at midnight.

10.00pm: As the crowds at Times Square disperse, we are bringing our live coverage to a close. Here is a summary of the day.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets around the world in a global day of action against corporate greed, banking excesses and other grievances that have crippled the world's economies. There were extraordinary scenes in Madrid, where tens of thousands of people converged on the central square. There were riots in Rome, protests in Paris, and at the Reichstag in Berlin police moved in to clear the area after protesters stayed beyond their allotted time. There were also demonstrations in Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In New York, protesters took their campaign from the outpost of Zuccotti Park into the heart of the city, staging a dramatic rally at Times Square. More than 10,000 people thronged to the landmark. There were a few minor flashpoints: police said about 70 people were arrested during the day. The largest group, 42, were arrested near Times Square after what our reporter described as a police blunder led to a group of people being trapped.
In London about 1,000 protesters massed outside St Paul's Cathedral in a bid to occupy the London Stock Exchange in nearby Paternoster Square. But the square was closed off by police and private security and the demonstration remained focused on the steps around the cathedral. The Wikileaks founder Julian Assange addressed the crowd on the steps of the cathedral.

source : http://www.guardiannews.com/uk-home

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