On Wall Street, unoccupied with nowhere to go

New York — Occupy Wall Street organizers are trying to keep their movement alive even though they’re not actually occupying anything at the moment. A march on Thursday resulted in lots of street action and plenty of arrests, but earlier, confusion reigned after New York police swept into Zuccotti Park, clearing it of the protesters’ tents, tarps, and personal belongings. The demonstrators believed their rights had been terribly violated, but in what way, precisely? Had Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the NYPD infringed upon a previously unrecognized constitutional right to camp in the park?

“Yes,” said Kris Cook, who came here from Buffalo. “We have a constitutional right as American citizens to speak up and protest.”