Dozens arrested after 5,000 protesters march on Wall Street as Herman Cain tells them: 'If you're not rich it's your own fault'



Video emerges of police using batons on protesters as officers use pepper spray to try and control crowds



Up to 5,000 people turn out outside court house in central New York for biggest protest since demonstrations began

Trouble spreads to other 'Occupy' movements as arrests are made in Seattle while officials clear a tented camp

Cain says protesters want to take from those who have succeeded, adding 'that's not the way America was built'

Occupy Wall Street has received $35,000 in donations used to run a newspaper and offer medical and legal aid




Dozens of protesters were arrested last night during Occupy Wall Street demonstrations during one of the biggest turnouts so far. Their arrests came after Presidential hopeful Herman Cain said: 'If you're not rich, it's your own fault.'

There were 28 arrests as scenes in central New York started to turn ugly with scuffles between police and demonstrators. There are now an estimated 5,000 people in Manhattan, using Zuccotti Park as their base.

The demonstrators are mostly made up of union members and students angry at the state of the U.S. economy but there are a host of other reasons that people say they have turned out for the leaderless protests.



In the early hours of this morning, YouTube footage surfaced that apparently shows police and protesters clashing with overwhelmed officers hitting out at protesters with their batons. Journalist Luke Rudkowski filmed the scenes at the entrance to Wall Street.

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There were 28 arrests in New York last night outside the City Hall on the 19th day of the protest that has taken over Zuccotti Park and already seen mass arrests

There were an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people at Zuccotti Park - the largest crowd that has been seen there since protests began nearly three weeks ago

Most of the protesters detained last night were taken into custody for disorderly conduct as scenes turned ugly. At least one was for knocking an officer off his scooter. In the video demonstrators are seen surging towards the famous street and trying to break police lines. Officers react with batons as they push the crowds back and as he gets close to the centre of the action, Rudkowski is hit in the stomach.

At the end of the speech he says: 'Each new macing video that is released, each new depiction of the abuses of police on the First Amendment, the more people will show up here in New York City and the more waves of occupation will spread across this country and you should be proud of that police, because you are participating in our media publicity campaign, thank you for attending.' RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next 'If you're not rich, don't blame Wall St, blame yourself':... 'My family comes first': Sarah Palin announces she will NOT... How almost half of U.S. population lives in a household that... Share this article Share The ugly scenes in Foley Square marked the closing of the biggest protest yet during the Occupy Wall Street campaign and follow comments by Mr Cain. He said: 'They're basically saying that somehow the government is supposed to take from those that have succeeded and give to those who want to protest. That's not the way America was built.' In the early parts of the demonstrations last night, students and unionists repeated the scenes that have been witnessed in central New York for the last three weeks with banging drums and chants such as 'we are the 99 per cent' and 'The whole world is watching'. The protest started on September 17 and has been focused on Foley Square and Zuccotti Park where a camp has been created. There are various causes with some being quite specific but most criticism is targeted at Wall Street, high unemployment and economic inequality.

A protester remonstrates with a policeman as her arm is held by the officer and demonstrators chant 'the whole world is watching' and 'we are the 99 per cent'

Similar scenes were witnessed in other cities. This man is being carried away by officers after a demonstration by Occupy Seattle protesters at Westlake Park Another protester is arrested from the Occupy Seattle demonstration after a tented village in the downtown area was removed at the order of the city's authorities Police on horseback disperse Occupy Seattle demonstrators before the camp they set up are cleared. By the end of the day Westlake Park was cleared Last Saturday more than 700 people were arrested when they blocked traffic while crossing Brooklyn Bridge in New York, but other than that and the scuffles last night the protests have been largely peaceful. As the march descended on the financial centre, GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain risked their wrath by fuming that they are only holding demonstrations to distract from President Obama's failed policies. The businessman addressed protesters in a Wall Street Journal interview, saying: 'Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself.' 'I don't have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration,' Mr Cain, 65, added. Elsewhere in the U.S. there were 25 arrests in Seattle as police and protesters clashed when tents set up by the demonstrators were ripped down.

According to the Seattle Times the protest started in Westlake Park around lunch time and lasted for several hours after people defied an order to take the tents down. Occupy Steattle - an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations - had until the weekend been a quiet affair and went largely unnoticed. However things changed at the weekend and the crowd grew causing police to take action and enforce a ruling against camping in parks.

Most of those arrested in Seattle where charged with offences relating to obstructing a public officer.

Massive movement: A successful media campaign by the protests has helped the demonstrations gain momentum as the biggest crowd yet turned out in New York

Thousands of people are now in the city's Financial District, highlighting economic inequality or more specific causes like this woman who is $60,000 in debt

Herman Cain: 'Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself. It is not someone's fault if they succeeded'

Tobias Calzarette (left) wears a face mask as he heads to the City Hall protest while Lincoln Hallgren (centre) joins his father and actor Mike Myers turned up in support



Gathering momentum: The start of the rally yesterday was largely peaceful as the biggest protest throughout the Occupy Wall Street campaign got under way

In New York $35,000 in donations has now been paid to the Occupy movement - a group that has no official leader and claims it has chapters of varying sizes in 480 cities across the world. There are even branches in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Mumbai, India.



The Occupy Wall Street protests started on September 17 when a handful of people trying to set up a camp in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds more people have arrived in nearby Zuccotti Park and the movement has become so organised that it now has its own newspaper and should people need it there is legal and medical aid.



Among the protesters are a diverse group of powerful unions, lending focus, credibility and potentially hundreds of participants to a group that started out as just a few college students camping out in lower Manhattan.

Planning to join the clamour were members of the Chinatown Tenants Union and the Transit Workers Union, the liberal group MoveOn.org and community organizations such as the Working Families Party and United NY.

Occupy Wall Street protesters met up with a labour union rally outside the courthouse in Foley Square as workers, including nurses, joined the protest yesterday

After a short time outside the court buildings, the protesters moved on to Zuccotti Park which has become the default headquarters of demonstrations across the U.S.

Protesters wave placards as they head to Zuccotti park where they refuelled with snacks and painted new banners before many of them tried to get through police lines Getting involved: American actor, producer and screenwriter Mark Ruffalo joins the protest, along with students and union members

At several colleges across the nation, meanwhile, students participated from afar by heeding organisers' calls to walk out of classes.

In New York, protesters were gathering at Foley Square, an area encircled by courthouses and named for ‘Big Tom’ Foley, a former blacksmith's helper who became a prominent state Democratic leader.



From there they were to march to Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters where protesters have been camped out in sleeping bags.

It's unclear how many people will be joining the march, but some organisers said thousands could show up. About 1,000 people were in Foley Square shortly before the march was to begin.

Some union members were driving in from other states. Roxanne Pauline, a coordinator for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Area Labor Federation, said some of her union's members plan to stay in Zuccotti Park over the weekend.