This article was originally published on August 25, 2008.
Riot police have forced a couple of hundred protesters out of Civic Center and then blocked them before they could reach the 16th Street Mall.
Police had the protesters surrounded between Court Street and Cleveland along 15th Street and moved up reinforcements, including an Aurora armored vehicle. They have made at least one arrest.
Protesters and police had lined up across from one another in front of City and County Building about 7 p.m., the police wearing their full riot gear and holding batons, chanting “move back, move back.”
At last one protester was sprayed with pepper spray and the mass of marchers moved back across the park and were cut off by police behind the Sheraton Hotel.
A police spokesman said that they had massed their forces in the park based on intelligence about the protesters actions.
Several downtown hotels were reported to be on lockdown.
Curiousity seekers stood outside the police cordon, outnumbering the marchers.
