Police arrest 75 protesters at Oakland’s City Hall


October 25, 2011 at 2:21p.m.

Police arrest 75 protesters at Oakland’s City Hall

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland police say they arrested 75 people while clearing an anti-Wall Street protest in front of City Hall that had grown into an encampment with dozens of tents.

Most of the people arrested were taken into custody on suspicion of misdemeanor illegal lodging, as police raided the encampment around 5 a.m. today.

Interim Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said at a news conference later in the morning that hundreds of officers and sheriff’s deputies from more than 12 agencies moved in on about 170 protesters.

He said police fired beanbag rounds and tear gas, but no one was injured. Television news footage showed protesters being taken away in plastic cuffs without incident.