Police arrested at least 70 people as a crackdown begins against the scores of protesters who turned to the streets over the last month to voice frustrations against city leaders.

Charges against those individuals - some as young as 14 - included possession of weapons, unlawful assembly, assaulting police, criminal damage, forcible entry and disorderly conduct in a public place.

Thirteen arrests have been linked to demonstrations on July 1, the most aggressive demonstrations to date, that ended with a few hundred people storming the city’s parliament. Only one of those individuals arrested, however, is alleged to be directly linked to the seizure of the government building.

The arrests kick off a crackdown that could last for years. Activists like Joshua Wong, a key figure in the 2014 Umbrella Movement that rocked Hong Kong, have been in and out of prison. Mr Wong, 22, was just freed in a surprise release this June.

China has urged Hong Kong authorities to prosecute the “criminals” involved in the protests. But unlike past protests in the city, the recent demonstrations have lacked a central organising force - instead several groups have rallied the masses. That means there aren’t specific individuals police can go after and send a symbolic message to quell unrest.