Police in riot gear close in on anti-Wall street activists early Wednesday in Los Angeles.
They're enforcing the mayor's order to evict protesters who have been camped outside City Hall for the past eight weeks.
Police declared the crowd an "unlawful assembly" around 12:30 am local time, and ordered people to disperse within five minutes.
Several protesters who refused to leave were arrested.
But except for some initial scuffles, the crowd remained peaceful.
The Los Angeles encampment was among the largest on the West Coast.
They're aligned with the months-old Occupy Wall Street movement, which was launched in protest at economic inequalities, and perceived injustices in the U.S. financial system.
Travis Brecher, Reuters
