New York: Occupy Wall Street protests continue despite snowstorm

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New York: Occupy Wall Street protests continue despite snowstorm

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Occupy Wall Street protests continue in the United States despite heavy snowfall.

31 October,2011 01:17 pm

A rare October snowstorm tested the resolve of anti-Wall Street protesters camped out in a New York park on Saturday, as police arrested demonstrators in Denver and evicted others from a Nashville plaza.In Washington, demonstrators marched in sleet to the US Treasury to urge higher taxes on the financial sector, beating a drum and chanting “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out”Buffeted by strong winds, protesters hunkered down in snow-covered tents in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, where the Occupy Wall Street movement against economic inequality first set up camp six weeks ago, sparking dozens of similar occupations in city parks across the United States.Hundreds of protesters struggled to stay warm and dry after 2.5cm of snow fell in the city with temperatures forecast to drop to freezing overnight.In Nashville, state troopers swept through a makeshift camp in Legislative Plaza for a second night on Saturday to enforce a curfew and 26 people were taken into custody for refusing to leave. They were given misdemeanour citations for trespassing.Judicial authorities have told police there are no grounds to charge the protesters and have also questioned the legality of the 10pm curfew used to clear the plaza.In Denver, 20 economic protesters were arrested trying to occupy the steps of the state capitol building, police said.About 2,000 demonstrators marched peacefully through Denver as they have for the past several Saturdays, but the situation heated up when some of them entered the capitol grounds and riot police fired pepper balls and mace into the crowd.