Over 100 'Flood Wall Street' Climate Protesters Arrested in Downtown Manhattan

On the heels of the People's Climate March -- perhaps the largest ever climate change protest -- and the third anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, activists converged in the Financial District in downtown New York City as part of another protest dubbed 'Flood Wall Street' on Monday. The slogan of the day was, "Stop capitalism. End the climate crisis." Few arrests were made during daylight hours, but by shortly after dusk, over 100 activists were arrested and loaded onto police buses. 

The NYPD confirmed to Business Insider that 102 protesters were arrested at Wall St. by shortly after 8pm. Among the arrested was a man in a full-body polar bear suit who works for the Center for Biological Diversity, according to Fast Company. 

Read the full day of updates from Newsweek reporter Zoë Schlanger below.

Activists attempted to stage a massive sit-in on Wall Street, but police barricades prevented that. Instead, they converged on the nearby Broadway. Despite several confrontations with the police, few arrests were made. The NYPD appeared to be opting for a technique of deescalation rather than arrest the participants of the protest, who did not have permits to march (or sit). 

Wall Street all barricaded in this morning: pic.twitter.com/XcSSXu6oQa

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

The protesters assembled in nearby Battery Park.

Battery Park is packed with people wearing blue for #FloodWallStreet now. A marching band is tuning up. pic.twitter.com/pm1i0dLO4O

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Brass Liberation Band in full swing with "Which side are you on?"pic.twitter.com/XISaSUQLuL

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Speeches beginning via mic-check. Probably 1k people in Battery Park now for #FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/Cyh0sblm8D

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

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Clik here to view.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Srijana Poudel, of Nepal, says that in her country, "farmers are in the streets" due to poor harvests. "We used to have water. We do not anymore. We cultivate but nothing grows. Our local seeds are disappearing. GM seeds are being introduced."Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Journalist Chris Hedges spoke to the crowd.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.#FloodWallStreet participants listen to speakers from Nepal, Brazil, and Mali before the sit-in.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Protesters have breakfast before the sit-inZoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Bobby Steele, who goes by "Outlaw" Bobby Steele, the "rebel of Wall Street." At least one protester was upset by his Confederate flag shirt, and offered to give him a different shirt to wear. Steele didn't take it.Zoë Schlanger

Srijana Poudel of Nepal told the crowd that in her country, "farmers are in the streets." 

"We used to have water. We do not anymore," she said. "We cultivate but nothing grows. Our local seeds are dissapearing. Genetically modified seeds are being introduced."

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Clik here to view.Srijana Poudel from Nepal speaks to the crowd.Zoë Schlanger

Hipster cop was there—in gingham.

Hipster Cop's new haircut is v swishy. pic.twitter.com/H9rjPpPJuW

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.A tour bus driver, unable to keep driving due to the protest, takes a photo of the scene.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Rick Lee, dubbed NYC's "hipster cop," discusses with protesters.Zoë Schlanger

After two hours of speeches, a singalong and music from a marching band in Battery Park, the protesters swarmed up and down Broadway, halting traffic.

The protesters moved into the street, bringing two huge "climate bubbles" with them.

We're out if the park. Traffic is stopped. pic.twitter.com/DR7MS5Zy0i

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Cops trying to keep giant bubble off the Wall St bull pic.twitter.com/QEmrulhrfz

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

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Clik here to view.Protesters scramble to keep the "climate bubble" away from a sharp sign.Zoë Schlanger

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Clik here to view.Zoë Schlanger

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Clik here to view.Zoë Schlanger

Eventually, the crowd staged its promised sit-in on Broadway, not Wall Street.

Sit in beginning on Broadway, not Wall st. #FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/rI7auWv65x

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

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Clik here to view.Mackenzie McDonald Wilking, 25, is walking across the country, from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., to protest the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee. Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Polar bear suits are warm. Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Protesters attempt to dissemble a police barricade. Zoë Schlanger

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Clik here to view.Gilbert Rosa, 25, works in the Bronx.Zoë Schlanger

Gilbert Rosa, 25, is a security guard in the Bronx. He was frustrated that the protesters weren’t doing more to “disrupt business as usual.” “I want to see massive civil disobedience,” he said. While the protest initially stopped traffic, by this time, after several hours, police had rerouted traffic away from the protest. “We need to be more dynamic. I’m not committed to being arrested. But a lot of people here did [commit to being arrested]. Utilize that! They’re willing!”

Police officers then popped one of the two climate bubbles.

Cops grabbed one of two bubbles. Protesters screaming, "The Climate Bubble burst."#FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/0LOd4wAQKt

— Hrag (@hragv) September 22, 2014

Protesters tried to reinforce the other one with an air mattress pump.

Cops punctured one of the big 'climate bubbles,' protesters trying to repair the other one pic.twitter.com/yBLmvxciDo

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Janet MacGilivray, 51, and her daughter Madeleine, 18, traveled from San Francisco to be at the protest. MacGilivray is a full-time environmental activist who says she is here to honor Larry Gibson, a renowned protester of mountaintop-removal coal mining in West Virginia.

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Clik here to view.Janet MacGilivray, 51, and her daughter Madeleine, 18Zoë Schlanger

Shadia Fayne Wood, 27, says she grew up in Newport, New York, next to an inactive toxic waste dump. “It is considered to be a cancer cluster community. My best friend’s mother died of a rare liver cancer. Then another friend’s mother died of a rare brain cancer,” she said. Fayne Wood is now a full-time organizer taking photographs for the Flood Wall Street media team. She says the legacy of toxins in her town is the “guiding purpose” of her work.

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Clik here to view.Shadia Fayne Wood, 27Zoë Schlanger

Then things started to heat up.

NYPD just sealed the barricades, time for me to hop out. pic.twitter.com/5V4wo3HUDC

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

People trying to break out #FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/WaIHmSPXON

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

NYPD arrest bus has arrived. #FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/0o5INLopUx

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

But this polar bear remained chill.

A friendly polar bear. #FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/wZGoK6qDXJ

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Less chill was this:

Arrests beginning pic.twitter.com/jNq0xUNjnN

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Guy arrested says "I'm being tortured. I was tortured in 2008." NLG taking notes on handcuffs. pic.twitter.com/enj7sEBHuU

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

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Clik here to view.A second person is arrested. He stayed silent.Zoë SchlangerImage may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Elliot Hughes, 25, gets arrested after standing on top of a phone booth. While detained, he said of the cops, "They're torturing me."Zoë Schlanger

The National Lawyers Guild was on hand, represented by a man in sweatpants.

National Lawyers Guild asking cops to loosen his handcuffs pic.twitter.com/E0m6PEhHTH

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

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Clik here to view.Zoë Schlanger

Other concerns were raised.

People have sat back down, back to speeches and chants. "We need to talk about heteronormativity!"pic.twitter.com/HR6snSwosl

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Pizza soothed raw nerves.

"MIC CHECK""MIC CHECK""PIZZAS ON THE WAY" 400 pizzas have apparently been ordered. #FloodWallStreet

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Agitators gonna agitate.

These two guys trying very hard to get people riled up again. "Come on people let's take the barricades!"pic.twitter.com/wDUe99aDNb

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Refreshed, marching resumed.

"Whose Streets?/Our Streets."pic.twitter.com/6uUunbYTFw

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

But Wall Street itself was off-limits.

NYPD just sealed off Wall St. Doesn't look like #FloodWallStreet is getting down here. pic.twitter.com/u4SiGB0SLA

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Confrontation pic.twitter.com/RD2CtWM0iR

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Trying to bust through the barricades on Wall st pic.twitter.com/0NGjWMAtc6

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Another arrest pic.twitter.com/CsycU2d7D6

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Two layers of cops pic.twitter.com/lStmReCbpI

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Aresstee pic.twitter.com/NylzZAHzfp

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

A big struggle pic.twitter.com/sLUAJy9wWL

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Cops will be cops.

They're penning in press now pic.twitter.com/oqnnuPAuQb

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

A few cops have batons out now. #FloodWallStreet

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Now with the NYPD helmet cops. Number of police just doubled. #FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/uHS1LN3CgI

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

And sometimes horses will be cops.

NYPD horses have arrived. #FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/fRyNhC0SI0

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

This guy hopped the barricade and sat down on Wall Street. Police picked him up and put him back with the other protesters.

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Clik here to view.Zoë Schlanger

Sweet relief.

The pizza has arrived cc @kate_sheppardpic.twitter.com/E1LTRG9mvK

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Deescalation brought to you by pizza. #FloodWallStreetpic.twitter.com/LkJdVmnq97

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

Pepperoni? Try pepper spray.

Remy Fredenberg was peppersprayed. He's from the Navajo reservation in Arizona. "If I don't blink too much I'm fine."pic.twitter.com/YaSVE3zm74

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

The protest was in full force.

#FloodWallStreet on Broadway sitting across the intersection with Wall Street pic.twitter.com/fN5X4Nj4jR

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014

And then this happened.

Cloud of blue dust (chalk?) thrown in the air pic.twitter.com/Ipe37vacJ3

— Zoë Schlanger (@zoeschlanger) September 22, 2014