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Occupy Philly Reacts To Occupy Wall Street Raid

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Occupy protest that started it all was raided early Tuesday morning. Manhattan's Zuccotti Park cleared of the Occupy Wall Street tent city that had called it home for the past two months.

The raid started at 1:30 a.m. and about 70 people were arrested, catching the protesters completely off-guard. That raid comes the same day the city permit for Occupy Philadelphia expires.

Word spread through the Occupy Philly camp, of the Occupy Wall Street raid, with some members even heading up to New York to show support.

Zack Brady, a member of Occupy Philly, says he thinks, rather than raiding the tent cities, officials and politicians would be better served opening a dialogue.

"Everywhere it's been shown pretty clearly, that anytime they sweep people from one place they reassemble somewhere else. It's going on all over the entire world," Bradley said.

As for the permit for Occupy Philly expiring and the city's request for protesters to relocate to allow a long-planned construction project to begin, Brady says, he will not move because the city asks. He says for him this is an act of civil disobedience. However, he says he would move if a labor union came and made the request.

"We don't want anyone to not work, we just don't want to bend to City Hall," Brady said.

Reported by Jim Melwert, KYW Newsradio 1060

 

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