Police have made the first arrests in the Occupy Philly movement.
15 protesters were arrested for blocking traffic outside the Philadelphia Police’s 8th and Race streets headquarters.
They gathered around 5 p.m. yesterday to protest police brutality and linked arms in the middle of 8th and Race streets, camping out in the street overnight. Police were forced to block off 8th Street to traffic.
A police spokeswoman said that, after speaking back and forth with the group, they refused to move and were taken into custody around noon. They are charged with obstructing the highway and are currently being processed.
The protest was not voted on in Occupy Philly’s General Assembly, so it is not an official action of the group, but the participants did come from the Occupy Philly camp and were given supplies and medic supervision by Occupy Philly through the night. They also had support of Occupy Philly, a woman at the group’s information tent said earlier today.
