Today Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy Wall Street Librarians filed a federal lawsuit against Mayor Bloomberg, the City, and the NYPD for compensatory and punitive damages totaling $47,000 for the roughly 3,600 books that were confiscated—nearly 2,800 of them destroyed— during the raid of Zuccotti Park on November 17. "This is an important and potentially historic lawsuit," attorney Norman Siegel, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit says. "It not only addresses the seizure and destruction of the books, but it also seeks to show why, how, and who planned the raid on Zuccotti Park." more ›

Important investigative journalist Bill O'Reilly is on to these so-called "protesters" of economic inequality. "This Occupy Wall Street movement is now very coordinated and they are terrorists. They are trying to create trouble. That's what terrorists do," O'Reilly told human paper bag of vomit Laura Ingram last night. But does he have proof? Of course: a random guy accosted him outside a Broadway theater on Friday night after he and three kids saw Jesus Christ Superstar. Strangers + Tim Rice = TERRORISM. more ›

Two Time's Up! activists wearing cartoonish police costumes were arrested on the Lower East Side during a "Film the Police" group bike ride Friday night as they headed downtown to gather in solidarity with jailed Occupy Wall Street protesters. As you can see in the videos below, Barbara Ross and Keegan Stephan were told they were being arrested for impersonating police officers. But after spending a few hours locked up at the local precinct, officers apparently came to their senses. more ›

In the first major legal victory for those detained during Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Matthew Sciarrino found photojournalist Alexander Arbuckle not guilty of disorderly conduct after a two day trial. more ›

After a Manhattan judge denied Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris' motion to quash a subpoena for his (innocuous) tweets, Twitter has filed their own motion to quash the Manhattan DA's subpoena. "Twitter's Terms of Service make absolutely clear that its users own their content," the company's attorneys write. "Unlike bank records, the content that Twitter users create and submit to Twitter are clearly a form of electronic communication that, accordingly, implicates First Amendment protections." more ›

A week ago, several hundred protesters ran through Lower Manhattan on a "Wildcat march" that was coordinated around other May Day protests. Some black bloc tactics were used, but most of the violence was directed towards photojournalists, as several fought with protesters who were attempting to damage their cameras or prevent them from covering the march. A thread on Anarchist News calls the photographers "vultures" and notes, "journalists are fucking enemies." But how many protesters actually believe this? And what does it say that a faction of anarchists seem to be taking a page from the NYPD in limiting what press can and cannot cover? more ›

Last week we learned that the NYPD and the FBI attempted to glean information on the May Day protests by executing bench warrants on people they believed were involved with planning Occupy Wall Street demonstrations and interrogating them. One of those people, who goes by the pseudonym Shawn Carrié, spoke to WNYC about how he was detained by the NYPD on May Day for over 13 hours on a warrant for a public urination charge that didn't belong to him. more ›

Last week, David Segal was working as City Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez's spokesman until he was abruptly fired after the New York Post printed a story detailing the federal prison term Segal served when he was 19 years old for throwing a burning rag into an Army recruitment center. At 26, Segal is recently married, working on his masters degree at Brooklyn College, and has been described by many as adept as his job. After a media firestorm, Segal was rehired today by Rodriguez's office, only to be fired again six hours later. "I came in at 9 a.m., the chief of staff gave me my ID back, I ghost-wrote a press release, and at 3 p.m. I got the letter saying I was fired. I'm just really disappointed." more ›

The Occupy Wall Street protests have been some of the most well-documented political demonstrations in history—with the ubiquity of cell phone cameras, almost every protester is also a photographer, and the NYPD has a special unit equipped with video cameras too. So there's no shortage of footage from Tuesday's May Day actions—for the armchair activist, here are some more videos that offer a visceral view of violent arrests and alleged vandalism. The first and longest shows a big scuffle between police and anarchists at the start the Wildcat march: more ›

Yesterday we asked Dan Deacon to estimate the size of the crowd at Union Square for the May Day rally—a representative with Occupy Wall Street's press liaison team said "between ten thousand and a hundred million," while other estimates ranged in the low thousands. Deacon has performed his blend of breakbeat noise-pop in front of hundreds of crowds, so what did he think? "I never make crowd estimates," Deacon said. "But even if the park was packed and there were people hanging out of every window, it wouldn't be enough." The prevailing mood of the rally was more Coachella than Wildcat, as OWS protesters, students, and union members danced together in the 70-degree weather. more ›

Remember the carefree days of Autumn 2011, when Zuccotti Park was a counterculture utopia powered by stationary bicycles and free range chicken? When Detective Rick Lee, the First Precinct Community Affairs officer known as Hipster Cop, posed for GQ and partied with Andy Warhol at Studio 54? Kiss all that goodbye—Zuccotti Park is a sterile ghost of its former self and, as this video shows, the Hipster Cop is getting pretty tired of all this shit. more ›

Over 50 protesters [Ed: as of 2 p.m. today the count is 97] were arrested yesterday during a series of demonstrations organized by Occupy Wall Street to commemorate May Day. Prematurely dubbed a "dud" by Reuters, the long series of events that spanned many hours and much of the city itself culminated in tens of thousands of union members, students, and other demonstrators marching at a snail's pace down Broadway. Later that night, several thousand protesters massed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza in Lower Manhattan before the police forced them to disperse or face arrest. more ›

At least six people were arrested after hundreds of protesters streamed through the streets of Chinatown, SoHo, and eventually the West Village in a march that began with several violent arrests at Sarah Roosevelt Park and ended at Washington Square Park. For much of the march, the NYPD kept its distance as the demonstrators, many clad in black with their faces covered, overturned trash cans and newspaper boxes, and dragged NYPD barricades out into the street. more ›

It's long been standard practice for police to conduct surveillance of protesters preceding major demonstrations, so it comes as no surprise that some activists and anarchists affiliated with Occupy Wall Street received a little visit from concerned members of the New York Police Department yesterday, on the eve of today's May Day General Strike. On the Anarchist News message board, one person who promises that "May Day means revenge," explains what happened: more ›

Yesterday, envelopes containing a suspicious white powder were sent to seven Manhattan locations: Five were Wells Fargo branches; one was the headquarters of JP Morgan Chase; and another was the mail sorting room for Mayor Bloomberg. Hazmat teams were dispatched to the various locations, but ultimately the police found the substance to be corn starch. However, some of the envelopes did contain a note, with the words, "Happy May Day," and "This is a reminder that you are not in control. Just in case you needed some incentive to stop working. We have a little surprise for you. Think fast." more ›

There's a decent chance that tomorrow your Twitter feed will be full of breathless updates from chaotic protest and the internet will ooze images of civil unrest. But what if you can't afford to strike or risk arrest at a protest, but are still intrigued by May Day and want to see what it's about? Here are just a few of the many events going on across the city. more ›

The big lawsuit filed by City Council members and Occupy Wall Street protesters wasn't the only civil lawsuit filed against the NYPD in federal court today! Another lawsuit, specifically concerning the NYPD's barricading of protesters at a demonstration last November, was filed today, seeking unspecified damages and an injunction stopping the NYPD from engaging in such tactics. more ›

Four New York City Councilmembers and a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters announced the filing of a big federal civil rights lawsuit (read it in full below) against the NYPD and Mayor Bloomberg. Councilmembers Letitia James, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Ydanis Rodriguez and Jumaane Williams appeared at a press conference at City Hall this morning to announce their lawsuit, which accuses the NYPD of routinely violating First Amendment rights and using excessive force to suppress dissent. Their lawsuit calls for the creation of an "outside monitor" to police the police. more ›

The Manhattan DA's office has dropped charges against an Occupy Wall Street protester just as the protester's attorney was poised to subpoena Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna. Marisa Holmes was videotaping Bologna discharging pepper spray into a group of protesters when she was charged with obstructing governmental administration. "I would have loved to see 'Tony Baloney' on the stand," Holmes told the Daily News. But Bologna still might get his day in court, as two women have sued Bologna and the city over the incident. more ›

On Friday a tipster sent us an email noting that several hundred NYPD officers had been conducting training exercises on Randall's Island in preparation for May Day's protests. While the sources of other journalists confirmed that information, Mayor Bloomberg declined to go into specifics today when asked about the training by the Voice. "We are prepared for everything we can think of all the time. Our tactics are something that we don't talk about in advance for obvious reasons." Occupy's wide range of scheduled events, both "official" and covert, promise to spread the department's resources from Lower Manhattan to Midtown. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] An NYCLU legal observer was arrested during an OWS march in front of an MTA building in Lower Manhattan yesterday. This reporter was standing 20 yards north of the incident and didn't witness the arrest, but videographer Tim Pool captured Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona speaking forcefully to the legal observer, then pulling her into the street by her arm to be arrested. Cardona is best known for punching protester Felix Rivera-Pitre in the face for seemingly no reason at a demonstration on October 14 of last year. more ›

On May 1st, Occupy Wall Street is planning what protesters hope will be a galvanizing "General Strike," with demonstrations and marches happening throughout the city. The May Day actions have been planned for months, and could bring a new burst of momentum to the movement—at the very least, you can expect plenty of arrests and a big turnout in Union Square, where Tom Morello, Das Racist, Dan Deacon and others are scheduled to perform. more ›

To commemorate the organization's 25th anniversary, members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) chained themselves together across Broadway at Wall Street this morning. Activists demanded a Financial Speculation Tax (FST) on Wall Street affecting all transactions and speculative trades in order to raise the money to end the global AIDS epidemic and provide universal healthcare in the Unites States. Police arrived with chain cutters and nine protesters were promptly arrested for obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct—to the sounds of jeering New York Stock Exchange workers. Later, approximately 1,500 demonstrators from organizations like Occupy Wall Street, Housing Works, Vocal NY, and National Nurses United marched from City Hall to the Department of Social Services at 180 Water Street before finally gathering again in front of Trinity Church on Broadway, chanting "Act up! Fight back! Fight AIDS!" more ›

A Manhattan judge ruled earlier today that Tweets are fair game to be subpoenaed, after a handful of OWS protesters received notice from the DA that their messages of 140 characters or less were considered evidence. Protester Malcolm Harris' attorney had argued that the Manhattan DA's office's request violated his client's privacy and free association rights, but the judge disagreed, and used Twitter hashtags in the first paragraph of his ruling. "The defendant moved to #quash that subpoena. That motion is #denied," Justice Matthew Sciarrino, Jr. wrote. more ›

Eleven Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested near the New York Stock Exchange yesterday as the demonstrators continue to occupy a segregated "First Amendment Rights Area" on the stairs of Federal Hall. Shortly after the arrests, the U.S. Park Police released a six-page set of regulations for the protesters sitting on federal property. more ›

According to 77 pages of documents released by the U.S. Park Police in response to a FOIA request, the owner of Zuccotti Park, Brookfield Properties, contacted the USPP regarding a possible eviction of an Occupy DC encampment just 48 hours before the NYPD raided Zuccotti Park. "I have received several e-mailed [sic] from across the country I. e. Denver and Portland about police taking action against protest encampments located in the City parks," Brookfield's portfolio manager Don Orcutt wrote to the USPP. more ›

Earlier today the National Park Service clarified where Occupy Wall Street protesters may assemble on the steps of Federal Hall: an exclusive "First Amendment Rights Area" on the right side of the stairs. But for a few hours today it seemed the feds and NYPD were about to forcibly remove everyone at Federal Hall. At 6:24 p.m., Ryan Devereaux Tweeted, "Financial District locked down w/ #ows on the steps of Federal Hall. 'They're about to all be arrested,' says a cop." more ›