Nearly 200 people arrested during Occupy Wall Street-related protests have appeared in New York courtrooms on charges stemming from a march on the Brooklyn Bridge and a demonstration in a Rochester park.

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A Manhattan court ploughed through the arraignments of 161 people, most of them among the more than 700 picked up in an October 1 march that marked the biggest mass arrest of the New York protest so far.

Hundreds of other protesters arrested on the bridge and during other Occupy demonstrations in the city have already been to court, but this week’s numbers are some of the biggest.

Meanwhile, 28 Occupy Wall Street supporters asked a Rochester court to dismiss charges they violated a night-time curfew at a park. A judge set another hearing for January 12.

In Manhattan, people lined hallways and an overflow courtroom in a courthouse that handles low-level offences, with some defendants and supporters wearing their Occupy Wall Street allegiance on buttons – and in one case, a hand-painted oxford shirt.

Many had been arrested on the bridge after police said protesters ignored warnings not to leave a pedestrian path and go onto the roadway.

The demonstrators were generally charged with disorderly conduct and blocking traffic. Nearly 60 per cent took a judge’s offer to have their cases dismissed if they avoid being arrested again for six months.

Over the nearly three months since Occupy Wall Street began, New York City police have arrested more than 1200 people in connection with the demonstration.

Besides those arraigned, about 170 more have court dates later this week.

Source : The Herald Sun

Note:  For a full list of participating Occupations and more solidarity actions across the world visit Occupy Wall Street:

In October, demonstrations in emulation of Occupy Wall Street were held in Europe, Asia and the Americas, drawing crowds in the hundreds and the thousands.

The political impact of the movement was increasingly plain. Democrats offered cautious support and Republicans were generally critical, but both parties seemed to agree that the movement was changing public debate.

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