Police Crack Down on Occupy Wall Street Protesters, Journalists on Movement’s 3-Month Mark

Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered Saturday in New York City to mark the three-month mark of the now-global movement. More than 50 people were arrested as demonstrators spent the day trying to occupy a new space following their eviction last month from Zuccotti Park. While covering the protest for Democracy Now!, two reporters were harassed by officers with the New York City Police Department. After an officer "jammed his fist into my throat and started yelling at me to get back," Ryan Devereaux says, "I was certain I was going to be hurt or arrested, or both," even though he was wearing Democracy Now!-issued press credentials. At the same time, another officer reportedly hit videographer Jon Gerberg, credentialed by the NYPD, three times in the kidneys as he filmed the protest. "It goes to show you that it doesn’t matter if you’re wearing the credentials that Democracy Now! has or you’re wearing the credentials that are supposed to protect you. The NYPD seems to think it’s OK to treat you as a second-class citizen," Devereaux says. This comes after a number of journalists were roughed up by police as they covered the recent eviction of Zuccotti Park. Major news publications, including the Associated Press and the New York Times, have called on NYPD to treat reporters with more respect.