Court order allows NYC protesters back into park

HUNDREDS of police officers in riot gear raided the New York city park where the Occupy Wall Street protests began, evicting and arresting protesters, before dawn, from what has become the epicentre of the worldwide movement protesting at corporate greed and economic inequality.

Hours later, the National Lawyers Guild obtained a court order allowing the protesters to return to the park, where they have camped for two months. The guild said that the injunction prevents the city from enforcing park rules on the protesters.

At a news conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the evacuation was conducted in the middle of the night “to reduce the risk of confrontation in the park, and to minimise disruption to the surrounding neighbourhood”.