400 Arrested in Occupy Oakland Unrest

More than 400 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested in Oakland during a night of skirmishes in which police fired tear gas and bean bag projectiles, making it one of the biggest mass arrests since nationwide economic protests began last year.

Earlier on Sunday, authorities had said that the arrest figure was between 200 and 300.

But the Oakland emergency operations center said in a statement that arrests were up to more than 400.

Riot police fought running altercations with protesters on Saturday night, injuring three officers and at least one demonstrator.

Protesters burned an American flag, broke down fences and allegedly vandalized Oakland's city hall.

The scuffles erupted in the afternoon as activists sought to take over a shuttered downtown convention center, sparking cat-and-mouse battles that lasted well into the night.

Police in riot gear moved in, firing smoke grenades, tear gas and bean-bag projectiles to drive the crowd back.

Oakland city officials said "extremists" were leading the demonstrations and using the city as a "playground" for the movement. Protesters have accused the city of overreacting and using heavy-handed tactics.

Oakland has become an unlikely flashpoint of the national "Occupy" protests that began last year in New York's financial district and have spread to dozens of cities across the country.

The Occupy movement appeared to lose momentum late last year as police cleared protest camps in cities across the country.

The protests in most cities have been peaceful and sparked a national debate over how much of the country's wealth is held by the richest 1 percent of the population.