500 protesters nabbed in Oakland

Riot police in the US city of Oakland have fired smoke and teargas canisters at anti-corporatism activists, arresting at least 500 people.

The ‘unprecedented number of arrests,’ as the local police described the apprehensions on Sunday, were made over the past two days as the Occupy Oakland demonstrators displayed resilience to keep the protest action alive.

Protesters on Saturday attempted to take the Henry Kaiser Convention Center’s building in the city’s downtown area, but were stopped by the police. The security forces reported 300 arrests during the day.

The number of those arrested grew to nearly 500 as the protesters then aimed to take over the YMCA’s building before storming the City Hall on early Sunday.

“If the cops are willing to defend property over people, I think it shows where the city’s priorities are,” said Carla Orendorff, one of the protesters, at the rally.

They had also warned the city authorities against any move aimed at stopping them, saying they would retaliate by shutting down Oakland’s port and also by indefinitely closing the airport and the City Hall.

The protest campaign owes its inspiration to the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, which began when a group of demonstrators gathered in New York’s financial district on September 17 to protest, among other things, against the excessive influence of big corporations on the US policies and the high-level corruption in the country.

According to the website occupyarrests.com, with the exception of the latest arrests, at least 6,319 Occupy protesters have been apprehended since the emergence of the movement.