Anti-greed Oakland protests turn violent

Clashes followed anti-Wall Street demonstrations; anarchist agitators blamed for violence.

Police arrested more than 80 protesters early on Thursday in overnight clashes in downtown Oakland that followed a day of mostly peaceful Occupy Wall Street protests against economic inequality as well as the current sentiment in corporate circles that puts profit at the zenith of achievement even if it leads to mass scale crime or destruction of the global economy that hits the poor and the middle-classes the hardest.

Officials said eight people 8212; five civilians and three policemen 8212; were injured in the violence that left Oakland streets littered with graffiti,smashed glass and debris.

Busloads of police in riot gear advanced on demonstrators after midnight,firing tear gas to disperse hundreds lingering in the streets hours after thousands of protesters forced a temporary shutdown of the busy Port of Oakland.

The clampdown appeared aimed at preventing protesters from expanding their foothold in the streets around a public plaza that has become a hub for demonstrations in Oakland,on the eastern bank of San Francisco Bay.

City officials said police acted in response to a group of agitators who vandalized property,set several fires,assaulted police officers and broke into a downtown building.

We had the opportunity to isolate the main group of people who seemed to be hiding in the crowd all day,Mayor Jean Quan told a news conference. The police,I think,very effectively got in and surrounded and arrested them.

Activists from the Occupy Oakland movement 8212; aligned with anti-Wall Street protests in New York and other U.S. cities against corporate excesses,high unemployment and bank bailouts 8212; said the vandalism gave police a pretext to intervene. Some blamed anarchist youths for the outburst of violence.

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Everything went beautiful until these guys came with scarves around their mouths,and then all hell broke loose. Our city just got demolished,said Johnny Allen,60,a healthcare provider sweeping debris in front of City Hall.

City crews pressure-washed graffiti such as kill cops and smash sprayed on downtown building walls.

TEAR GAS

The latest unrest in Oakland,which shot to the forefront of nationwide anti-Wall Street protests after a former Marine was badly injured in clashes last week,followed a day of rallies that drew 7,000 activists at their peak.

Lined up shoulder to shoulder,police fired volleys of tear gas,forcing the demonstrators to retreat into Frank Ogawa Plaza,a public square next to City Hall that protesters have used as a camp since last month.

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Some protesters hurled tear gas canisters and rocks back at police as they fled.

The Port of Oakland was shut down for several hours on Wednesday after crowds marched on the sprawling facility. But demonstrators protesting a financial system they believe benefits mainly corporations and the wealthy failed in their efforts to cause widespread disruption to commerce.

Calm was restored by late morning and the port 8212; the nation8217;s fourth busiest maritime container-cargo hub with 39 billion in yearly imports and exports 8212; was back in full swing on Thursday.

Some disagreements flared overnight between a minority of protesters who set up trash-can barricades and wore face masks and other,often older,demonstrators who lectured about the need to keep protests peaceful and not provoke police.

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A sign on a coffee shop with a shattered window offered an apology: We8217;re sorry. This does not represent us.