National Park Service police began slowly dismantling the Occupy DC encampment at McPherson Square on K Street early Saturday morning. Over the course of several hours, cops asked protesters to leave while authorities in hazmat suits combed the park and removed tents.
Despite protesters insisting that the temporary structures were in compliance with the latest regulations imposed on the demonstrators, the cops continued to clear out the park throughout the course of the day. With only a small section of McPherson still spared by late afternoon, authorities eventually moved in and used force to clear the rest of the park.
Protesters, passersby and journalists alike were assaulted as cops clad in riot gear stormed into the crowd and attacked anyone on the scene.
Here cops are showing forcing a group of people out of the park with plastic shields and batons, only for them to fall into the mud and be crammed into a fence that prevented them from easily vacating the premises.
Several arrests were reported, including one photojournalist, and many others were injured in the raid, including one RT cameraman.