The Occupy Wall Street movement has reached a new phase since the protest movement began in September, as the camp, which has been the focal point of the movement was emptied early Tuesday morning, and was kept off limits by at least 1,000 riot police.

 Wall Street Protesters Evicted from Zuccotti Park

Over two hundred protesters were arrested as police descended on Zuccotti Park in a swift sweep of the stronghold, after New York City Michael Bloomberg called for the park’s closing.

The mayor said the park was evacuated in the early hours to minimize the risk of confrontation. Still Bloomberg’s order was undermined by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lucy Billings, who issued an order which would allow protesters to return.

Billings scheduled a hearing for later Tuesday, which would effectively prevent authorities from evicting protesters.

The Wall Street protest movement, which began by protesting what many consider to be economic inequities, corporate greed, and government bailouts, was established in mid-September 2011; it has since spread to cities across the United States and around the world.

In recent weeks demonstrators, who had become increasingly frustrated, took their protest along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to march along the homes of some of America's biggest corporate executives.