Dem: ‘Occupy Wall St.’ eviction raises ‘serious civil liberties questions’

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Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has issued a statement condemning the actions of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Police Department in their eviction of “Occupy Wall Street” on Tuesday morning.

“The City’s actions to shut down OWS last night raise a number of serious civil liberties questions that must be answered,” he said. “Moving forward, how will the City respect the protesters’ rights to speech and assembly? Why was press access limited, and why were some reporters’ credentials confiscated? How will reported incidents of excessive force used by the police be addressed?”

“Whatever the courts rule, the City’s actions here must not be a backdoor means of ending the free exercise of protesters’ rights.”

He added: “Irrespective of this incident, OWS is now bigger than Zuccotti Park, and no one has the power to silence this national movement.”

Two weeks ago, Nadler joined several local lawmakers in sending a letter to Bloomberg standing in solidarity with the movement but also requesting that the noisy drumming from the park be prohibited.

(Photo credit: LCCR & LCCREF)