A member of the Occupy Wall Street press team claims two demonstrators outside the Criminal Courts Building were arrested this afternoon after insulting NYPD officers. Jeff Smith says that around 2:30 p.m., two protesters were arrested for calling a cop a "douchebag." Here's video of one of the arrests—we can't confirm what precipitated it, but the video's worth watching just for the part where the protester proudly yells "douchebag" repeatedly as the cops are escorting him away:
Some demonstrators are still in police custody following Saturday night's mass arrests in Zuccotti Park. One demonstrator who goes by the name Dicey Troop (he's the one who previously sought donations to fund his full-time activist lifestyle) was just released after spending 40 hours in the Tombs. At the end, he was merely charged with disorderly conduct. Other protesters have been held longer for refusing to submit to the NYPD's iris scan.
The NYCLU and members of the City Council held a press conference at Zuccotti Park today to condemn the mass arrests, and The Mass Defense Coordination Committee (MDCC) of the New York City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild also issued a statement saying, "The NYPD’s egregious behavior toward protesters this weekend is merely one highly visible instance of their larger program of the arbitrary and brutal behavior that disrupts the health and welfare of communities city-wide. Such alarming behavior on the part of law enforcement must end.
"We demand attention to these repressive, hostile and violent practices, including a federal investigation into the policies and practices of the NYPD under the auspices of Commissioner Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg. Without critical scrutiny of NYPD policy and practice, the safety of New York City’s residents is more compromised than protected by the police."
