Hidden Weapons Reportedly Found in Zuccotti Park Clean Up

We've all heard the accusations of violence and sexual assault in "Occupy Wall Street" encampments. A possible discovery in the Zuccotti Park clean up last week may confirm the capabilities of the movement that many feared. FoxNews.com reports that law enforcement sources say "a number of weapons" were found in the clean up following the NYPD eviction of Occupy Wall Street:

"Gardeners employed by the park owners, Brookfield Properties, to clean up the mess made by occupiers during their two-month stay discovered knives and other potential instruments of violence in flower beds throughout the public space, according to officials.

'We (NYPD) aren't taking the weapons, building security is,' said a high-ranking officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 'Security at the Brookfield building across from Zuccotti. They have all the weapons.'”

NYPD would only confirm that one knife was found buried in a planter on Tuesday, but the haul was believed to be large enough for Brookfield Security workers to collect them in the real estate company’s headquarters across from the park. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment and it's not clear what security at Brookfield will do with the weapons.

Gothamist reported last week that when Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway filed a motion on behalf of the city opposing a court order requiring the NYPD to allow Occupy Wall Street demonstrators back into Zuccotti Park, that Holloway asserted in filing the motion that "people who have a known history of violent interaction with the police” have been gathering in the park, and “makeshift items” that he said could be used as weapons, "such as cardboard tubes with metal pipes inside, had been observed among the occupiers' possessions."  Holloway also noted that after the October 1st Brooklyn Bridge march, "knives, mace and hypodermic needles were observed discarded on the roadway."

Fox News reports that the motion also notes that since the protests began in Zuccotti Park on September 17, “approximately 73 misdemeanor and felony complaints and 50 arrests,” have occurred, and a number of repeat and violent offenders were spotted in and around the park.