Police Sweep 'Occupy Philadelphia' Camp, 50 Arrested

As Los Angeles cops were cleaning up Occupy LA, Philadelphia's camp was also experiencing a police sweep.

Following several warnings and orders from the mayor to clear out of the plaza around City Hall, Occupy Philadelphia's tent city is now closed.

Just after 1am today, police in Philadelphia swept through the encampment and removed all the tents and debris from the area. Approximately 50 protesters that locked arms in an effort to stop the police from removing their camp were arrested:

After being removed from their temporary home, the protesters took to the streets with an impromptu march. The police were monitoring the march, following the crowd as they beat their drums, chanting and marching through Center City:

Police report that two officers suffered minor injuries in a scuffle with some of the protesters. Twitter posts from OccupyPhilly claimed a couple of injuries, but none appear to be serious.

At its peak Occupy Philadelphia had more than 230 tents on Dilworth Plaza and their presence was delaying the start of a $50 million dollar renovation project. While Philly Mayor Nutter initially did support the cause of the protesters, the swarm of homeless people, deterioration of sanitation, increasing crime (including sexual assaults) and the bloated overtime costs to the city (more than $650,000) seemed to turn him.

There are reports from inside the Philadelphia movement saying that a new camp may set up on the 44 acre park on the Delaware River. The Blaze will monitor and update as needed.