Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested in NY camp

NEW YORK, March 21 (Xinhua) -- The New York City authorities announced on Wednesday that six protesters were arrested after they clashed with police at Union Square Park in the city's Lower Manhattan.

The arrests were made when protesters knocked down barricades and heckled police officers as the police raided the Park early Wednesday morning, in an attempt to prevent some 200 protesters from sleeping in the park.

"They were given a lawful order to disperse and when they subsequently refused, they were arrested," a spokesman for the New York Police Department, who wouldn't reveal his name, told local media.

Those arrested will face a range of charges, including resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration, according to the spokesman.

Protesters had gathered in Union Square Park since Monday after police closed their original camping site Zuccotti Park Saturday night. Police detained 73 people on Saturday after hundreds of Occupy protesters gathered in Zuccotti Park to mark six months since the start of the movement.

As the weather in New York turns warmer, Occupy Wall Street protesters are preparing for a new round of demonstrations. They called for supporters to skip work on May 1 to protest the so- called police brutality.