Occupy Miami to join in nationwide rally

MIAMI (WSVN) -- As Occupy Wall Street protests across the nation escalate on its two-month anniversary, an Occupy Miami rally has been scheduled to take place later in the day.

The local Occupy Miami rally is scheduled to start at 4 pm. at Jose Marti Park and demonstrators will march on through Brickell, Miami's financial district.

Protesters with the Occupy movement have said they have reached a critical moment with authorities in a number of cities, including New York, where police forcibly removed protesters from parks and tore down camps in Zuccotti Park, early Wednesday morning.

Two months to the day since the Occupy movement began, things have grown more tense than ever. In a brazen manifestation of their symbolic anti-capitalist push, protesters reached a boiling point Thursday morning. In New York, a massive crowd and a large police presence has crowded up the city's financial district.

Protesters broke through barriers and tried blocking traffic. Some even sitting in the streets. Officers in riot gear showed up to tackle the problem head on, handcuffing protesters who were not cooperating with police.

As many as 50 to 60 people were arrested by noon time, and that number is expected to rise.

The congestion brought taxis and delivery trucks to a halt, but the trading day has opened as normal on the New York Stock Exchange.

In Los Angeles, at around 9 in the morning, protesters hit the streets of LA's downtown financial district shutting down an intersection, earlier in the day.

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