NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A judge upheld New York City’s right to evict Occupy Wall Street protesters from a park on Tuesday after baton-wielding police in riot gear broke up a two-month-old demonstration against economic inequality.
Protesters who had been kicked out in a surprise predawn raid were allowed back 16 hours later but were banned from bringing the tents and sleeping bags that had turned a square-block park near Wall Street into an urban campground the past two months.
New York Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman found the city was justified in enforcing a ban on sleeping in Zuccotti Park, saying the new rules still protected protesters’ free-speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The judge ruled merely that the case lacked the urgency to approve or strike down the new park rules immediately. The underlying case will be heard at a later date.
After the judge’s ruling, police lifted barricades at two points, letting people back
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