Wall Street protesters defy curfew a 3rd time

Capitol police sporadically made their rounds and a state trooper occasionally walked past the protest in the pre-dawn hours, but authorities signaled no immediate attempt to make arrests as law enforcement agents had done on the two previous nights.Elizabeth Sharpe, 20, took part Sunday and said she was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement after seeing a 2003 documentary called The Corporation. She said she felt the need to be an activist in the movement that expresses opposition to perceived greed on Wall Street and across corporate America.How can I as an individual change this? she asked, speaking with an Associated Press reporter. With the occupy moments far-flung reach across American cities, she said she felt there was strength in numbers, adding, I got for the first time a glimpse of hope.Some danced to keep warm on a chilly morning and others shivered in the frosty air, huddling under blankets. The protesters have been galvanized by the friction between state officials and the local magistrate. Several new demonstrators showed up at the state-owned plaza near the Capitol for the first time earlier in the day.As many as 75 people initially remained after the curfew that started at 10 p.m. CDT and runs until 6 a.m. But by early morning only about 50 people remained and police did not make any immediate attempt to disband the protest.On previous nights, the defiance had triggered arrests. Earlier Nashville arrests came after a week of police crackdowns nationwide on Occupy Wall Street activists. Clashes have occurred in other cities, including Oakland, Calif., Denver and Atlanta.In Oakland, Calif., an Iraq War veteran was seriously injured during a protest clash with police Tuesday night. In Atlanta, helicopters hovered overhead Wednesday as officers in riot gear arrested more than 50 protesters at a downtown park. In San Diego, police arrested a similar number of people who occupied the Civic Center Plaza and Childrens Park for three weeks. And in Denver on Saturday evening, authorities moved into an encampment of protesters and began arresting demonstrators just hours after a standoff near the steps of the Colorado Capitol turned into a skirmish that ended in police force, including pepper spray and reports of rubber bullets.