Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Occupy's 'Day of Action'; Occupy Wall Street Marks 2-Month Anniversary; Stand Off Between Protesters, Police in New York; Protesters to March Onto Brooklyn Bridge

Aired November 17, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We've got more straight ahead of the NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux.

Good to see you.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Great to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Have a good day.

MALVEAUX: Thanks. You too.

Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

I want to get you up to speed for this Thursday, November 17th.

On the two-month anniversary of the Occupy movement, cities around the country are bracing for what could be the biggest day of protests ever. We're going to start with New York, of course the birthplace of the uprising.

You're taking a look at live pictures there as they are gathering. Protesters are currently trying to shut down the stock exchange. They also plan to take over the subways, the Brooklyn Bridge, and even the doorstep of City Hall, Foley Square.

There is a heavy police presence right there out in the streets, as a you can see. More than 50 people have already been arrested. It's a very fluid situation. Tensions running high.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, as you see, more protests and potential problems. You're looking at live pictures there out of L.A. That is where protesters plan to bring traffic to a halt downtown by occupying a major intersection.

We got new information today on the child molestation case against Jerry Sandusky, Coach Paterno's right-hand man at Penn State. "The New York Times" details a series of incidents over a 12-year period that, taken together, suggests that university officials knew about Sandusky's behavior but kept quiet.

Also, campus and city police, they are telling CNN they have no record that Mike McQueary filed a report on Sandusky back in 2002. Now, you may recall he's the guy, the assistant coach, who says he went to police when he saw Sandusky sodomizing a boy in the showers. It is possible that police didn't write a report if they decided not to pursue the charges.

Well, the mother of one of the alleged victims spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper last night. And she discusses her son's reaction to Sandusky's denials on national TV this week. Her voice has been altered to protect her identity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was upset. He was really upset about it.

He said -- I didn't watch it -- I watched it when it was on, and he watched it after that. He said that he cried. And I said, "Well, why did you cry?" And he said, "Because I'm afraid he might go free."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Shortly, we're going to have an extended part of Anderson's conversation with the mother. She says that Sandusky is a sick man.

Well, we've got violence that we're watching escalating in Syria. Army defectors attacked a pro-government youth group office today. They fought Syrian security personnel. A human rights group says that at least 12 people were killed today alone. More than 100 protesters are said to have been killed by pro-government forces this week.

Germany, France, Britain plan to go the U.N. today with a resolution condemning the Syrian government's actions.

The worst weather to hit the South since April's tornado outbreak has killed at least five people. Severe storms, suspected tornadoes damaged homes and businesses from Louisiana to North Carolina. Now, three of the deaths were in York County, South Carolina. That is just outside Charlotte. One person was killed in North Carolina, another in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I watched it for a few minutes to see what direction it was coming. It looked like it was coming straight toward us. Me and my wife and our two children are lucky, because if it would have hit our house, we probably would have ended up like our neighbors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Want to go back now to our top story this hour. It could be a tipping point for the Occupy movement.

We're looking at live pictures here. This is the two-month anniversary of the uprising.

Protesters, they are hoping to create a massive disruption in New York City. Things are all going to change, at least if they get their way. They are targeting the financial district, town hall, the city transit, as well as the Brooklyn Bridge.

Mary Snow, she is live in the middle of all the action there, Zuccotti Park, the heart of the Occupy movement.

So, Mary, they plan on shutting things down. What's the impact now? What are we seeing?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, if you take a look behind me, protesters are streaming back into Zuccotti Park. And they really have been over the past hour, kind of leaving those choke points that you've seen earlier this morning, where protesters really blocking intersections at streets around the New York Stock Exchange.

They're coming back here, regrouping, if you will. And there are a number of other protests throughout the day. It's really been a day of protests.

Police say so far, there are about 50 to 60 arrests made. This, mostly, they say, for disrupting traffic. We did witness one arrest earlier today of a man who identified himself as a former police captain in Philadelphia.

Also, within the last hour, we've heard from the NYPD that four police officers were taken by a fire department ambulance to a hospital because an unknown liquid had been splashed at them. They did walk on to the ambulance. But that's what's been happening in this last hour.

I'm going to just move over here a little bit, because we're hearing a lot of noise coming out of Zuccotti Park as these protesters are streaming in here. As you can imagine, it was a very fluid situation through the morning. It's really tough to say how many people have showed up for these protests, because, really, it was kind of a massive show of force earlier on today -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Mary, I know where you are. I've been there. I've seen that area before.

Can you give us a sense of the mood there? Is it tense where you are?

I know a lot of times when you're in situations like that, there's a lot of abrupt movement. You hear a lot of noise. You're not really sure what's going on. It can be chaotic at times.

Give me a sense of the mood where you are.

SNOW: I would say that the atmosphere was charged earlier today. For the most part, though, it was peaceful.

And at some point, there were people marching through the streets playing instruments. You could hear music. Yes, it's tense at some points. But as I said, for the most part, largely peaceful.

MALVEAUX: And they're planning on shutting down the subway system. Why is that? That's, you know, transportation that the 99 percent use, for the most part.

SNOW: Yes. You know, I talked to one protesters earlier on the way over here who was saying they didn't really plan to shut the subway system down. Of course, you know, this is one story from many protesters. But the version I heard was that they're planning to gather at several subway stations throughout Manhattan, tell their stories in their own words, and then get on the subway, go downtown to Foley Square. And that's really going to be the site of their big protest that they're expecting this afternoon when they plan to hold a march across the Brooklyn Bridge.

And Suzanne, we should point out, the whole objective of this today was to disrupt trading at the New York Stock Exchange. That did not happen. And I can tell you -- OK.

We are -- OK. We're going to show you a shot above us to look inside that park because we can hear a lot of action in there. We're going to walk down there -- Suzanne.

SNOW: Mary, what I'm looking at from the aerial shot that you had mentioned there, it looks like they are taking away barricades, that they're clearing those barricades that have been set up. I'm not sure who's actually doing that, if it's the protesters who are moving those barricades themselves, but you do see in the left bottom portion of this shot where there are photographers who are gathered, who are taking pictures. And you can see the crowds there essentially moving those metal barricades that had been placed there before.

A lot of cheering. A lot of noise. Let's just listen in for a moment.

SNOW: And Suzanne, I can tell you, this happened very quickly.

MALVEAUX: All right. I want to just let our viewers know what you're watching here.

The small picture on the right, that's live pictures out of Los Angeles, where the protesters are gathering, the Occupy Wall Street protests out of Los Angeles. You can see hundreds and hundreds of people who are marching and waving flags.

On the left of your screen there, that is where you see live pictures out of New York. This is the Zuccotti Park. This is the birth of the Occupy movement, where there is a lot of cheering that's going on. That is because it looks like, from our vantage point, the group started to move the metal barricades away. There is a very heavy police presence there, as our own Mary Snow was talking about.

And Mary, if you are -- I understand you're still with us. What are you seeing? I know that you're trying to get in closer to that crowd.

SNOW: Well, I can tell you right in front of me, Suzanne, we're going to try to get a picture of this. We are seeing police -- they hauled out someone from the park, and now they have him in cuffs on the ground. But what we can see from that overhead shot is that protesters starting to lift the barricades that were inside the park. We're seeing a couple of other people being hauled out of the crowd now and being arrested.

MALVEAUX: Mary, yes, we are seeing that right now. These are live pictures.

And you can see what look like --

SNOW: And police are running down this block. Suzanne, sorry. There are police now coming on motorcycles down the Street where we were just standing. And police are closing in on these protesters.

MALVEAUX: We are watching right now a standoff between police, protesters. This is the Occupy Wall Street sit, Zuccotti Park, in New York, where police are trying to maintain some sense of crowd control.

Mary is on the ground there, right in the middle of all of this. We just saw at least two people hauled away and arrested.

Mary, give us a sense. How many police officers are moving about here? Is this a troubled spot?

SNOW: Yes. Suzanne, I can't tell you how quickly this happened, because we were just telling you that this was fairly peaceful, but what happened was protesters starting going into that park, throwing over the barricades, and now there are arrests being made and police are streaming in. Protesters, shouting across the Street at them, and there's a small crowd over here with police, where they have taken some of these protesters to the side.

And police just are now filling this block. We saw a number of them coming in on motorcycles, and now they're going into the crowd. I don't know if you can see that shot, but they're pushing their way over those barricades.

MALVEAUX: Mary, we are looking at those -- a lot of pushing that's going on between the crowd and a very heavy police presence.

Can you give us a sense of just how many people are down there? Are we talking about hundreds and hundreds of people, or are we looking at just one particular small area of this protest?

SNOW: No. We are talking about hundreds of people in this park. And we're going to show a different shot from above our truck so you can get a better view of this. And I can't even tell you how many police right now are coming in.

I think we're going to show you that shot now.

MALVEAUX: Mary, we're listening in here. What are people saying? What are they chanting? What are they trying to convey here? What are they trying to do?

SNOW: You know, I can't even hear what they're chanting right now, Suzanne. We are behind a barricade, and I'm standing right now behind a stream of police officers. They're trying to reinforce those barricades.

MALVEAUX: I want to remind our viewers what we're watching here. This is Zuccotti Park. This is where the Occupy Wall Street Day of Action is taking place. That's an understatement. A lot of action that is taking place right now, what looks like clearly the police trying to maintain control over a crowd.

The crowd is chanting. We're not seeing violence, necessarily. We are seeing a bit of pushing and shoving that is going on. And we have seen the protesters these metal barricades, removing them, which alerted police.

They went moving in. We saw at least two people being handcuffed and taken away. But this is the scene.

Hundreds of people gathering earlier in the day. They said on the two-month anniversary, they wanted to shut down Wall Street, disrupt trading, shut down in some form the transit, the subway system, the subway, as well as make their presence know.

This comes just days after the mayor said that they were not allowed to gather here in this park with tents or sleeping bags, but rather gather peacefully without those things throughout the day.

Let's get back to Mary, who is in the middle of all this on the ground.

Mary, can you just describe what you're seeing around?

SNOW: Yes, I am on the south side of Zuccotti Park. And it's really -- it's so jam-packed in here, Suzanne, it's hard to see inside the middle of the park, because now police have just swarmed this area.

And what we can tell is that these barricades were being kind of tossed or picked up toward the middle of that park. Protesters had come here after that march this morning around the New York Stock Exchange and really, just moments ago, when we first started talking to you, it had been peaceful. More people started streaming in while we were talking to you. That's when those barricades started being tossed.

And now there's just a thick line of blue. This is a very narrow street. And right now it is -- right in front of me are police officers making their way into that park, and protesters chanting at them. I can't hear what the protesters are chanting.

MALVEAUX: OK, Mary.

I want to bring also our Carol Costello, who is joining us as well, to talk about the impact of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Obviously, you are focusing on the politics of all this and the fact that they are trying to bring forward a message. What do you make of it, Carol? Do you think that they're actually effective in what they're doing?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a turning point, no doubt, for the Occupy movement. They can't camp out anymore, not in Zuccotti Park, not in any park across the nation, because city mayors and police departments have had enough. They've had enough of the trash, of the spectacle, and the criminals who have sometimes infiltrated this movement.

So, they said, hey, we've got to get rid of these encampments. And some say, Suzanne, good riddance to that.

In fact, Lori Ziganto wrote on the conservative blog redstate.com -- she said -- and I'm quoting here -- "Their legacy is that they showed the left for what it truly is, and it ain't pretty. The world was watching, they didn't like what they saw. Zuccotti Park and other protest sites across the country were cleared because the protesters were violent, dangerous cretins."

And, of course, as you can see here, they're not exactly violent, at least right now in New York City. They're pushing police. There's some pushing and shoving going on. And they're removing those barricades so that they can infiltrate Zuccotti Park, where the movement began two months ago.

I talked to the deputy mayor for the city of New York earlier this morning. He said that the police were going to be pretty strict about this kind of thing. If protesters crossed those barriers, they were going to be placed under arrest.

Protesters also plan to march across the Brooklyn Bridge later this afternoon, at around 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, just in time for rush hour, as you know, Suzanne. If they step onto the bridge, those protesters, any protester, will be arrested.

Now, the thing that I'm focusing on today is this kind of, like, pushing the message forward. Whatever that message may be that these Occupy Wall Street protesters want to send out to the nation, is all of this obscuring this message, or have they really changed the political conversation in this country? Have they changed the conversation?

I mean, are you thinking about income inequality now? Are you thinking about injustice, perhaps, on Wall Street? Or are you thinking simply about the enormous debt that this country has accumulated? Because that's what the political conversation has really been these past few months.

And I guess that's what I would like our viewers to answer for me. Have these Occupy protests changed the political conversation in America?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Please weigh in on this and what you're seeing live right now, what's happening in New York City.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Carol. We want to get a closer vantage point, if we can. It looks like things are starting to calm down here, but obviously a very tense situation on the ground there. Things are changing minute by minute.

As we saw before, the crowds lifting the barricades, moving very quickly through the park. The police then went chasing after this group. At least we saw arresting two individuals, carrying them away, a lot of chanting, flags.

Mary, are you still there with us in the middle of this?

SNOW: I am, Suzanne. I'm on the street adjacent to Zuccotti Park.

And as you can see from that shot that you just got right now, a clear shot of what's happening. And right now, for the moment, it seems to be kind of a standoff between police who have lined this street, put up some of these barricades, and the protesters inside.

And we've seen a number of these kind of standoffs, not to this extent, earlier today. But this is what we've been seeing for the past couple of minutes.

This park is filled with hundreds of protesters. There are some who I'm looking at dancing, playing music at a different part of this park. But really, where this is focused right now, where the standoff is, a pretty tense situation as cops and protesters kind of wait it out right now.

MALVEAUX: Mary, stay with us.

I want to take our viewers to Los Angeles, too, where things are heating up on the ground there as well. John Torigoe he's a photojournalist who's in L.A.

Paint the picture for us there, John. What's happening where you are?

JOHN TORIGOE, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST: OK. Well, I'm downtown L.A., on Figueroa Street, approaching 4th Street. And the protesters started pretty much from City Hall. And they're heading towards the Bank of America building, I'm told.

But earlier on the radio, I heard that Occupy protesters might hang out here at the 4th Street and Figueroa intersection and sit down in the intersection. I'm between 5th and 4th, approaching 4th right now, trying to stay ahead of the protesters, because it's so loud in the middle of the drumming and chanting.

MALVEAUX: How many people are there, John, where you are on the ground?

Well, it looks to be about 500 to 600 protesters, both Occupy movement protesters and also a lot of labor unions as well.

MALVEAUX: And we noticed they're walking down the street with a big sign that says, "We are the 99 percent."

What are they trying to do here? Obviously, they've disrupted some of the trading that's happening there downtown, or some of the buildings?

TORIGOE: They're trying to unify the country, saying from New York to L.A., we are the Occupy movement. The police downtown here have cordoned off certain streets, so they're sort of herding, if you will, the protesters along the city streets ahead of the protests.

MALVEAUX: OK, John.

We're going to take a quick break here. But what you're watching, what we've been watching, we'll continue to watch here, is the developments from coast to coast. We're talking about Los Angeles, Occupy Wall Street protesters walking down the street in big numbers. It looks like they are just getting started there on the West Coast.

On the East Coast, New York, the birth of the movement, Occupy Wall Street. You see that crowds have gathered, hundreds and hundreds of people in that park.

There was a lot of -- there were a few scuffles, some people who were arrested. A very tense situation there on the ground in New York.

We're going to have more of this after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Following a breaking news story. This is the two- month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. We are watching protests from the West Coast to the East Coast.

Los Angeles, that is the smaller box there that you are seeing. And also, the larger picture here, live pictures. This is Zuccotti Park. This is in New York. This is where the movement began, and we see a growing crowd, a crowd that has taken down some of the barricades, and a standoff that is occurring with police right now.

Our own Mary Snow is in the middle of all of this. It's been a very tense situation. We've seen things change minute by minute.

Mary, what's happening now?

SNOW: Well, Suzanne, really, we're seeing kind of, like, a standstill right now between police and protesters. The tension has dropped down a notch.

And what we can tell you is this -- what our team saw were about four or five people, a handful of people earlier, lift barricades that had been inside Zuccotti Park. We're on the south side of Zuccotti Park.

And once those barricades were lifted, police started moving in. And you saw some pushing and shoving.

We saw at least two arrests following that. And police just streamed in after that.

And what we are seeing now is police wanting the Cedar (ph) Street, which is on the south side of Zuccotti Park, with the protesters inside. And the protesters have really been streaming in here after their initial protest march earlier this morning when they had really targeted the New York Stock Exchange.

Their plan was to disrupt trading on Wall Street. That did not happen. They did close off some intersections around the New York Stock Exchange. There had been, at that point, police say, about 50 to 60 arrests, mostly for disrupting traffic.

And then they came in here. You saw what happened while we were on the air, really. And police came in.

We're seeing police get back now on their motorcycles, going down the street. And we're just going to hang on one second, see what happens next here. They're leaving this street.

MALVEAUX: Yes, we can see where you are, Mary. We can see the police officers on the motorbikes there and the barricade that's been set up keeping the protesters away from some of the media, as well as the line of -- the sea of officers, if you will. It is quite a heavy police presence.

Most of these arrests, Mary -- you say that people have been arrested today -- is this disorderly conduct? Is it because they are not in the right place, or has it gotten violent? What kind of arrests are we seeing?

SNOW: Well, yes, mostly for disrupting traffic. We ourselves have not witnessed any violence. And the arrests that I saw happen earlier today at one intersection happened when protesters were sitting down and blocking the streets. And that's when police took them away.

The police had initially allowed protesters to block the intersections on the streets. And then they were telling protesters to move back to the sidewalk. So, when those arrests happened, it was to get people back on the sidewalks so that traffic can move through.

We did learn -- police told us that four police officers were taken to a hospital because they were splashed with an unknown liquid. All four of the police officers were able to walk into that ambulance. They were looking into what kind of liquid was thrown at them.

MALVEAUX: Mary, how long are these guys allowed to stay out here before the police decide they're going to clear them out?

SNOW: To clear the protesters out?

MALVEAUX: Yes. Are they allowed to just -- what are they allowed to do? It looks like kind of a party atmosphere. We see balloons being tossed about, and chanting and waving flags. Are they allowed to stay out there after dark?

SNOW: Yes. You know, the city just two days ago -- this has been the bone of contention and what has infuriated some protesters. They are allowed to stay here and protest. They are not allowed to bring sleeping bags or tents or camp out overnight in the park. This, of course, happened just two days ago after the city came in and evicted protesters in the middle of the night. You know, some of the protesters you talk to, of Occupy Wall Street, say this really strengthened their resolve, to make their presence known today after the city's actions just two days ago.

MALVEAUX: So this standoff could essentially be -- carry out the rest of the day. I mean, is there any law or ordinance that says they have to leave? Essentially, if they say in that location, they can simply stay all day, all night?

SNOW: Yes. And the police are coming back down once again on this street and motorcycles. The city's been saying all day that as long as these protesters abide by the law, they're allowed to stay here. They said if they -- you know, if they blocked traffic or block car traffic on the bridge that they could be arrested. So as long as they are in the park, they are allowed to stay here, as long as they're abiding by the law.

As you know, there are a number of protests planned throughout the day. One is to occupy various subway stations. Although, some of the protesters say it's not their intention to, you know, shut down subways or anything like that. Then, of course, the large protest that they are planning for is at 5:00 this afternoon at Brooklyn Bridge.

You know, Suzanne, the city was saying, leading into today, that they were bracing for tens of thousands -- potentially, tens of thousands of people showing up today.

MALVEAUX: All right, Mary. We are keeping a close eye.

You're looking at pictures, live pictures here out of New York, out of Los Angeles. There are Occupy Wall Street protesters throughout the country today. There is a sense in some areas of calm, in others, determination. Others, tension on the ground as this scene unfolds minute by minute. We have reporters throughout these cities on the ground watching, observing, reporting on what is taking place there.

We're also going to bring in a legal voice to talk a little bit about how this day is going to unfold here. You are talking about potentially tens of thousands of people on the Brooklyn Bridge. You're talking about potentially government buildings and businesses shut down as a result. Traffic at a standstill. A lot of potential disruption around these protests. And this is intentional. This is something that they want to bring their message to the country and to the world about this income inequality. It will be potentially a very disruptive day for a lot of folks throughout the country. We're going to have more on that after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're watching protests throughout the country, but specifically in two major cities. That is where the Occupy Wall Street movement has rapidly grown. Los Angeles, the smaller picture that you're seeing on the screen, as people are marching down the street. Also, where a lot of the action is taking place, that is in New York, Zuccotti Park. That is where hundreds and hundreds of people have gathered. They've been there for hours. We have seen some of those protesters remove the barricades that are supposed to keep them in an enclosed area. Some of the police officers putting people in handcuffs, arresting them for various violations. It has been a very tense situation on the ground there in New York. Things have changed moment by moment.

We have also seen what looks like kind of a celebratory mood with balloons and flags and chants. But clearly, a day in which -- it's called a day of action -- in which the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters would like to bring their message to the people and disrupt what is taking place in downtown New York. They say they are going to shut down much of the transit system, the subways. They are trying to disrupt trade. They are moving about.

Right now, what we're seeing on the ground is essentially a standoff between the protesters and the police, who are just trying to make sure they stay in an enclosed area.

I want to bring in Alison Kosik. She reports from the New York Stock Exchange every day.

Alison, I understand, from your vantage point, it was pretty difficult to get into work today.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Difficult because of the NYPD presence and the fortification that they've erected around the New York Stock Exchange. They've closed off many streets around the perimeter of the exchange. As you get closer, you start to get into those layers upon layers of barricades. I have to walk in and use an I.D. badge. Today, it was checked many, many times. I was definitely given a once over a few times by several NYPD officers. They want to make sure I needed to be -- or they wanted to make sure I was going to a place where I should be going.

Clearly, though, the trade went off without a hitch today. The opening bell rang. Stocks are trading as a normal day. Sitting inside the New York Stock Exchange here, Suzanne, you'd never know what's going on outside.

But here, we just want to pull up some pictures I took earlier. You see just how it is. This is right around the New York Stock Exchange, right by the openings, where you walk into the building. You see how dozens upon dozens of officers on horseback are literally fortifying the doors to get into this place. It's more of a show of force along with the barricades. Right there is a shot of Broad Street. You see the flags there on the left. That is one of the main entrances here to the New York Stock Exchange. There's a huge show of force just around this building. It really has become quite a cocoon over the past day or so -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: And, Alison, is this what it normally looks like? Since the protests started -- this is a two-month anniversary here. The protesters said this would be a day of action. This would be a day they would rally and come out in large numbers. Just over the last 12 hours or so, did you -- have you seen a real beefed up police presence since they have threatened to shut things down?

KOSIK: Yes. You know, since the protests began two months ago, the barricades have been up, but not in this -- not this much. Last night, when I was leaving the exchange, I could barely get out because the gates were blocking me in. They had already started. NYPD had already started erecting all of those barricades, getting ready for what was coming their way.

You know, there has been a lot of skepticism whether or not protesters were going to be successful in storming the New York Stock Exchange. Still, clearly, they were taking great precautions, the barricades, the security most certainly stepped up today around this building -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right. Alison, thank you.

I want to bring in attorney Richard Herman to talk a little bit about the legal questions here.

First of all, Richard, explain to us how this is going to work. You have a standoff between police and hundreds of people located in this very small area of the city. The mayor says they are allowed to be there as long as they don't have erect tents and sleeping bags and camp out. But is this a scene that essentially could play out for hours and days?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Suzanne, the key to that is peaceful protests, like Gandhi said. Peaceful protest is one of the more powerful methods to bring attention.

However, here when we see this many people lined up and emotions -- and it seems like a jovial atmosphere right now. As the day goes on, who knows what's going to happen with the tensions. The beefed up police forces around. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to accommodate them. He's trying to say, listen, you can protest but just stay in this area, because he's charged with protecting the citizens of the city of New York. That's his charge.

So, while allowing the peaceful protests, it's a tough balance here. And the opportunity for just one of these protesters to maybe throw a punch at a police officer or throw something at a police officer, this entire situation could absolutely erupt. So I got to believe as the day goes on, tensions are going to increase. I hope it doesn't.

But again, the city of New York, the mayor is charged with protecting its citizens. They will do so, like we just saw. They beefed up around Wall Street. They beefed up the presence in this area. They're going to take down barricades. And they're going to destroy public property. They're going to be arrested. They're going to be treated like common criminals. So if they can keep their protest contained, perhaps their message will get out. But if it gets the least bit violent or if anybody in the city is going to suffer from this, any type of physical harm, the police are going to move in swiftly.

MALVEAUX: Richard, what about the Brooklyn Bridge? They're planning on marching on the Brooklyn Bridge, potentially bringing traffic to a standstill. If they're on the bridge, is that cause for arrest?

HERMAN: Well, there is a walking portion on that bridge, Suzanne, as you know. If they're going to walk across the walking portion of the bridge, I think they're going to be able to do that successfully. If they venture down to the driving lanes where the cars are and they completely shut down that bridge, they're going to be arrested. That's how I see it.

MALVEAUX: As long as things remain --

(CROSSTALK)

HERMAN: That's a very tense --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Sure, go ahead.

HERMAN: I'm sorry, I just -- I think -- I just don't know where -- you know, what they want to do today other than have this protest in this contained area. If they're going to try to disrupt the city, like we're hearing, if they're going to try to stop the flow of traffic or stop the subways from operating, they're going to be arrested. And there's going to be mass arrests.

MALVEAUX: But Richard, I imagine if there are that many people, the police are not going to be able to handle that. If you have -- if hundreds and hundreds turns into tens of thousands that -- they're not going to have that kind of force to arrest everybody. I assume they could just walk and roam the streets as they wish.

HERMAN: Well, the New York City Police Department is probably the finest in the country. I know they're prepared for this. Like you said, 10,000 arrests, I don't know. Maybe they can't handle that. But again, they're going to do everything they can to protect the citizens. They have an obligation to do that. The mayor has the obligation to do that. And these protesters, I mean, if they have a plan today and it was not approved by the city in advance, they're running the risk of violating the peace in the city, and they're going to have problems. It's not going to off without a hitch. There are going to be mass arrests in the city of New York and elsewhere, if these people don't stay contained. If they truly, truly want to disrupt and shut down the city, they're not going to let that happen in New York. I can tell you that.

MALVEAUX: All right. Richard Herman, thank you very much. We're keeping a close watch on what is taking place there on the grounds, Zuccotti Park in New York. Hundreds of hundreds of people gathering now. The Occupy Wall Street movement day of action, the two-month anniversary, and the standoff that is taking place with police at that particular location. This is happening at a day and a time when there are protests throughout the country, throughout the country.

We're going to have more on this right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Following breaking news throughout the country here. You are watching -- we are watching together these Occupy Wall Street protests that are spreading and erupting throughout the country. We are taking a look from west to east coast. We have Los Angeles, where people are marching down the street. We're taking a look at pictures now out of Portland, Oregon, as well, where people are beginning to gather.

The main scene of all of this is New York, Zuccotti Park. That is the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street movement. This is all a part of a day of action, a two-month anniversary mark, if you will. And threats that are coming from the protesters to shut things down. We're talking about trading. That did not happen. Wall Street, that did not happen. But we are talking about the Brooklyn Bridge. We are talking about various sites, transportation, businesses. This is a day in which the protesters want to get their message across about income inequality.

What we have seen, however, are various arrests. Some scuffles, a lot of tension on the ground. We saw earlier, CNN got video of retired Philadelphia police captain, Ray Lewis (ph), who was down with the protesters earlier getting arrested in uniform. And the crowd's reaction to that. You can see those pictures from earlier in the day.

It has been a very tense situation on the ground in New York as police try to contain the protesters. Hundreds and hundreds who have gathered in a very small area. The police are trying to keep them in a barricaded area of that park there.

I want to bring in Mary Snow, who's on the ground in the middle of all of this.

Mary, just describe for us, if you will, what's taking place around you, what you're seeing.

SNOW: Well, Suzanne, we're talking about how quickly the situation changes here. Things really got much, much calmer quickly. Now we're seeing is protesters here in Zuccotti Park are streaming out of the park. It's believed they are now heading to Wall Street. There had been, obviously, protests there earlier today. There's been a steady stream. It's been very peaceful without incident as these protesters head down there. But, you know, as you had been mentioning earlier, this is a changing day. These protesters vowed to make their mark throughout the day here in New York, here in lower Manhattan, where this Occupy Wall Street movement started two months ago.

And you know, this march had been planned and different protests had been planned. And then two days ago, the city evicted protesters from Zuccotti Park, saying they could protest but they could not camp out in the park. And that really infuriated many of these protesters, who had been here, camping out, really saying that it gave them resolve to make a show today, a show of force today here in lower Manhattan.

Not all of the protesters are heading over to Wall Street. You see many of them are staying here. And there are a number of protests throughout the day. One is expected to take place at several subway stations throughout Manhattan. And then later today, at 5:00, there is a march on the Brooklyn Bridge. And the city, going into this day, had been bracing, in its words, for potentially tens of thousands of people to show up today -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Mary, we're going to get back to you in just a minute.

But we have this dramatic report from an iReporter, Alvaro Perez. He brings this to us. He said he was on his way to work when he came across a group of Occupy protesters shouting as police were arresting a female demonstrator. And he says, according to this iReport, he noticed that the police were pulling the girl by her hair.

Do we have that iReport up or -- we're going to go to that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, according to the iReporter, he says that they noticed that the police were pulling the girl by her hair and that people started yelling, that it was police brutality. And he says that's when he started to go ahead and tape this. He said that the police dragged the protester into the street by her backpack, as the crowd started to yell, "Shame, shame, shame!".

Now, this iReporter, Perez, says he doesn't know what this woman was doing before this incident occurred. But you can see there, from the video that was taken, that this was a very dramatic moment. It disturbed a lot of people. And you see the way the police are handling the arrest of this woman. This is from the site, the Occupy Wall Street site, taken from an iReporter who saw this earlier in the day.

We're going to go ahead and follow the protests, the tension, the arrests. We're going to have more after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: You're watching breaking news. These are Occupy Wall Street protesters throughout the country. We're talking about Los Angeles, Portland, Oregon, as well as where a lot of the action is taking place, that is on the streets of New York, Zuccotti Park. That is where the movement began. It is the two-month anniversary and protesters have vowed a day of action. What does that mean? For some of these protesters, that means shutting down the subways, shutting down business. And some, it has meant a little back and forth with the police officers who are down on the ground trying to make sure that they are contained in a very specific area.

I want to bring in Carol Costello.

Because, Carol, you've been getting a lot of viewer comments and feedback about what this movement has turned into. The message, whether or not that message is even -- has gotten lost in all of this. What are folks saying?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, specifically, the "Talk Back" question was, has Occupy Wall Street changed the political conversation in America? We've gotten a pretty good response to this one, Suzanne.

This one from Mike. "You bet it has. Look at all the media attention it has gotten and how much it has grown and continues to grow. The mayors who oppose may have found ways to disrupt encampments, and they thought this would set back the movements, but in reality it will only strengthen it."

This from Ken. "Change the political conversation? It has certainly been mocked by politicians, but not changed it much. Although I support the supposed cause of Occupy Wall Street, I have, over time, become confused on what this cause is exactly about."

This from Paula. "Occupy Wall Street is nothing more than lazy brats who don't want to work and feel that they are entitled to be catered to. They're disgusting and their parents should be ashamed."

Whoa, that's harsh!

This from Jvonne (ph). "They certainly have changed our conversation this morning. Hate them or love them, you're still talking about them and this is all they want."

Keep the comments coming, facebook.com/carolCNN.

Certainly interesting. Most people are pretty much pro-Occupy Wall Street, I think, Suzanne. They say at least it's gotten the conversation headed in another direction, and people are talking about things like income inequality and who should be taxed more and who should be taxed less. At least there's a conversation going about these things now.

MALVEAUX: There certainly is. And there's a lot of attention to the issue, as well as to the protesters. So they have the eye of the nation, certainly, watching, very closely in terms of how this all plays out. Whether or not that message can be conveyed in this type of way, because I imagine it's pretty difficult to get around and could be very disruptive for folks, at least, who live in New York.

I want to go to Mary Snow, who's on the ground. She's in the middle of all of this.

Mary, you have one of the protesters with you. If you would, just, you know, ask them what they hope to accomplish today.

SNOW: I will. And her name is Jo Robbins (ph). She's 29 years old. She's from New Orleans and she has been here for about three and a half weeks.

JO ROBBINS (ph), PROTESTER: Three and a half weeks.

SNOW: Jo, thanks for talking with us. What do you hope to accomplish today?

ROBBINS (ph): Today? I hope to accomplish reminding the rest of the world that they're a part of the 99 percent. And I'd really like to see some solidarity between students and the unions and the people here who have been living in the park.

SNOW: You have been down here for three and a half weeks. Do you feel that your intentions have been affected? Do you think you're getting your message out?

ROBBINS (ph): I think, particularly, ironically, after the raid, our message is being broadcast all over the world right now. And today's actions and the media presence here has far outnumbered any of the media presence I've seen since the beginning of the occupation.

SNOW: What's next for Occupy Wall Street down here in lower Manhattan? You've been evicted from Zuccotti Park. You can protest, but you can't camp out here. Do you intend to have another place where you occupy? Or what's next?

ROBBINS (ph): I think the numbers have increased dramatically today. And I think we need to have a general assembly. And we need to discuss together, figure out what the best choice is next.

SNOW: And this afternoon, you intend to march on the Brooklyn Bridge?

ROBBINS (ph): Yes. We are marching with the students who are marching from Union Square to Foley Square. And then the unions are meeting us at Foley Square.

SNOW: And the message there, why the Brooklyn Bridge?

ROBBINS (ph): Because of the arrests that happened at the Brooklyn Bridge. 1,100 people were arrested at the Brooklyn Bridge.

SNOW: You want to shut it down?

ROBBINS (ph): Shut it down is a big word. I think we want to remind the rest of the world and each other that this is our city, this is our country, and we have the right to march wherever we want to march. Now, this is a peaceful movement, it really is, and we want everyone to be encouraged to be a part of this.

SNOW: All right. Jo Robin, thank you for your time.

And Suzanne, just being here for the past couple of weeks and talking to different protesters who have been down here, their stories are very similar to Jo Robin's. They have been down here for several weeks, you know, camping out here. And the big question mark is, what happens next?

This march had been -- this day of protest had been planned because it's the two-month anniversary. Where they go next, still trying to figure that out -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And Mary, if you could just ask her a quick follow-up question here. Does she worry, does she have any concern at all that if they end up disrupting, like, say, the subway system, and people can't get home, or they have a difficult time moving around, is she worried that that takes away from the supporters, the 99 percenters who use the subway, and who have to get home to their families, and have jobs, and are still -- you know, understanding their struggle, but are now kind of inconvenienced, if you will, and making life a little bit rougher for them?

SNOW: Sure.

Jo, we have one more question from Suzanne Malveaux. And that is about the protests at the subways later today.

There are several subway stations targeted. And do you worry, are you concerned at all that if subway service is disrupted, with people going home during rush hour, trying to get home from work to their families, are you worried that that is going to hurt some support from people outside of this area?

ROBBINS: I think there might be a misconception that the idea of occupy the subways is to shut down the subway system. I think occupy the subways is about talking to people on their way home from work.

I don't think the intention is to shut down the subway. The intention is to be on the subways. It's our public transit system, and it's something that we should all have access to.

SNOW: All right. Thank you for clearing that up.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: OK. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.