UPDATE:
Reports text-messaged from inside the hearing regarding proposed demolition of low-income housing report taser use , disturbances ("rioting") and macing outside of City Hall. More as the story unfolds.
The AP reported an hour before these reports came in that protesters planned to disrupt the City Council meeting , where members were expected to approve demolishing dozens of buildings. People entering the council chamber had to pass through metal detectors and handbags were being searched.
The hearing today will decide whether bulldozers will roll on the HUD managed projects.
The Times-Picayune reported on its website at 1:00 PM that demonstrators broke through an iron gate and this forced the police response of tasers, mace, and pepper spray. A dozen police were on foot and seven on horseback.
Several streets surrounding city hall were blocked off and a SWAT team truck with officers in full riot gear was parked at the corner of LaSalle and Perdido.