Thousands of protesters descend on Manhattan as police gear up for a weekend of mayhem... but is this the start of a middle class uprising?

More than 1,000 march to New York Police Department headquarters to protest against 'heavy handed' response to the demonstration



New York City police are bracing for a weekend of mayhem in lower Manhattan with thousands expected to risk arrest as the Occupy Wall Street protest moves into its third straight week.

More than 1,000 demonstrators speaking out against corporate greed and social inequality took their protest to the New York Police Department (NYPD) headquarters yesterday.



The Occupy Wall Street protesters camping out in lower Manhattan marched several blocks north yesterday and demonstrated there for about two hours against the police response to the downtown protest, which is in its second week.

United: Demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street campaign sit in the plaza in front of the New York Police Department headquarters on Friday

Critics have accused officers of being heavy-handed, saying they have roughed up people who did nothing wrong, the NYPD has disputed that claim.

Protesters also say they're upset about reports from The Associated Press that an NYPD intelligence unit has sought to infiltrate the city's Muslim community.

The movement, whose members have vowed to stay through the winter, are protesting issues including the 2008 bank bailouts, foreclosures and high unemployment.



And the increasing presence of more affluent-looking demonstrators is fuelling questions over whether this is the moment a frustrated middle America is uniting for a national uprising.



The protest encampment in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan is festooned with placards and anti-Wall Street slogans.



There is a makeshift kitchen and library, and celebrities from filmmaker Michael Moore to actress Susan Sarandon have stopped by to show solidarity.



Grungy youths sleeping on the street, topless women waving signs stating 'I love this country', and ageing hippies have won their share of national headlines for their cries of rebellion.

But among these protesters are also men wearing suits and mothers who have driven in from the suburbs.

Julien Harrison, an aspiring teacher, was among the frustrated masses, travelling from Portland, Maine to voice his frustration. Mr Harrison, who said his student debt amounts to $50,000, has only been able to find only manual labour since getting his master's degree.

He told VOA News: 'Of course, they’re laying off teachers all over the country,' he said. 'It’s getting more and more competitive. I just came from Portland. There’s people with Ph.Ds, masters, undergraduate degrees competing to be a barista at a coffee shop.'

The 'people powered movement for democracy' - inspired by the Egyptian Tahrir Square uprising and the Spanish acampadas - has been targeted by critics who say the rallies, thanks to a vague list of demands and disorganised leadership, will be only a footnote in the history of middle America's growing frustration with unemployment and a dismal economic forecast.

But demonstrators say otherwise.



Susie and Artie Ravitz stand next to Carlson. Retirees from Easton, Pennsylvania, told the Huffington Post they drove to lower Manhattan to add numbers to the uprising.



'The main thing is to draw attention to the disparities,' she said. 'The rich and the greedy are taking the country down. It's really a discouraging time.



'You have young people with college degrees left out in the cold, unable to find jobs. I have kids and grandchildren. I really worry what their lives are going to be like.'

Suited up: Luther Green of Brooklyn, New York and other demonstrators opposed to corporate profits on Wall Street rally at Zuccotti Park in the Financial District on Friday

High-tech: An Occupy Wall Street supporter streams live video as speakers address the large crowd gathered in Zuccotti Park Ben Yost, a 36-year-old social worker from Brooklyn, was spotted by the website waving a sign with check marks next to: WAR IN IRAQ. RECESSION. UNEMPLOYMENT. WAR IN AFGHANISTAN. Then a question: WHO'S MAKING MONEY? WALL STREET PROFITEERS.

He said of the movement: 'We need to just get a conversation growing and build a community and figure out how to get some of the money out of the corporations and back to the people who deserve it.' Smaller protests have also sprouted in other cities, including Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.

Marty Goodman, a unionized subway worker, said, 'Last year we had 900 of our members laid off... These are our issues too: Wall Street, the banks, layoffs, the struggle that these young people are spearheading is our struggle too.'

Among those pledging solidarity were the United Federation of Teachers and the Transport Workers Union Local 100, which has 38,000 members. The unions could provide important organizational and financial support for the largely leaderless movement. On Friday, demonstrators who camped out for fourteen straight days gathered once again to march to police headquarters over what they viewed as excessive force used against demonstrators, minorities and Muslims. Last week, police arrested 80 people during a march to the bustling Union Square shopping district, the most arrests from a demonstration since hundreds were detained outside the Republican National Convention in 2004. Uniformed: New York Police Department officers walk in the street as demonstrators march to One Police Plaza, headquarters of the NYPD, on Friday Sit-in: Demonstrators from Occupy Wall Street rally outside One Police Plaza, protesting police brutality, on Friday A police commander used pepper spray on four women at that march, and a video of the incident went viral on the Internet, angering many protesters who vowed to continue their protests indefinitely.

Police have said pepper spray was a better alternative than night sticks to subdue those blocking traffic. Reports of police brutality have prompted military veteran to join the fray.

A thread on Reddit.com from from user theenemywasme incided nearly 2,000 comments on Friday after his call to 'protect the people and the constitution' of the U.S. by acting as a 'first line of defense' between police officers and peaceful protesters.

'I'm heading up there tonight in my dress blues. So far, 15 of my fellow marine buddies are meeting me there, also in Uniform,' the post reads. 'I want to send the following message to Wall St and Congress: I didn't fight for Wall St. I fought for America. Now it's Congress' turn.'

By early Friday, more than 500 people on Friday were gathered ahead of the start of the planned late afternoon march to One Police Plaza, the centre of police operations, in downtown Manhattan. Online flyers for Friday's march read: 'No to Stop-and-Frisk in Black & Latino neighbourhoods' and 'No to Spying and Harassment of Muslim Communities.' Call to action: Demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street campaign listen to speakers in Zucotti Park near the financial district of New York on Friday Cries of rebellion: The movement's members march through the streets of downtown Manhattan, holding placards high in protest Uprising: Members have vowed to stay through the winter, are protesting issues including the 2008 bank bailouts, foreclosures and high unemployment Making a statement: A demonstrator from the Occupy Wall Street campaign stands with a dollar taped over his mouth as he stands in Zucotti Park near the financial district on Friday The crowd was boosted by an announcement that the rock band Radiohead would perform at 4pm. Later, organizers posted a brief statement on their website, saying, 'Radiohead will not being playing. This was a hoax. Please accept our apologies.'

'We heard about Radiohead coming here on Facebook,' said Alegra Felter, a 34-year-old teacher from Brooklyn who was among the disappointed rock fans.

By 5pm the march had yet to start as more people gathered, spilling out of the plaza onto nearby streets, blocking traffic and making it hard for Wall Street executives and workers walking to subways.

Asked on his weekly radio show on Friday whether the protesters could stay indefinitely at the private park they call their base, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, 'We'll see.'

Bloomberg added: 'People have a right to protest but we also have to make sure that people who don't want to protest can go down the street unmolested.'



