Other demonstrators, gathered on the sidewalk outside of the police line on the, applauded the protesters as police lifted them by their biceps and put them in the buses.

Many arrestees smiled like martyrs, or joked with police, who responded cordially. One man hopped on one foot between the police escorting him to the bus, kicking the other leg out in a black boot can-can. The plain-clothes officer by his side smiled.

The police knelt and worked for hours to separate the prone demonstrators who were chained together, finally freeing their hands, which emerged from the pipes with chains still dangling around sweat-soaked layers of athletic tape.

With the central square clear, they turned to face the protesters and spectators who had watched for three hours as the demonstration slowly dissolved, and pushed them slowly back down the side-streets.

One man tried to break through the line, claiming to be a member of the press. An officer told him several times to back away, unsuccessfully.

The policeman then, keeping his drawn baton to the side, walked at the man and, with his chest, pressed him against the Plexiglas bus barrier and moved his face in to a kissing distance.

"Do not test me today, sir," the officer said. "Do not test me."

The man did not. He turned and left.