Occupy Wall Street protesters cleared out in pre-dawn raid

Under the orders of Mayor Bloomberg, hundreds of police officers raided and cleared out Manhattan's Zuccotti Park in the middle of the night. Many Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested as they were rousted from their tents and sleeping bags.

At 6:30 a.m. this morning, Justice Lucy Billings issued an order requiring the protesters to be readmitted to Zuccotti Park with their tents. ThinkProgress just spoke to one of the plantiff’s attorney’s, Gideon Orion Oliver, who confirmed that the order was served on Mayor Bloomberg and the other defendants via fax at 7:50 a.m.

During his 8 a.m. press conference, Mayor Bloomberg seemed to acknowledge he was familiar with the temporary restraining order, but claimed he had not been served and was keeping the park closed. As of this writing, Zuccotti Park remains closed to protesters in direct contradiction of Justice Billing’s order.

For more info and updates, go to ThinkProgress