WASHINGTON -- Occupy DC protesters have confirmed via Twitter that a man accused of sexual assault has been removed from McPherson Square by the police: "A man living with us in McPherson Sq has been removed, taken into Park Police custody following accusation of sexual assault and theft."
"Rest assured that we are incredibly shaken up by this. We will keep everyone posted as details emerge," reads a second tweet.
A U.S. Park Police spokesman, Sgt. David Schlosser, confirmed to The Associated Press that a man was taken into custody on Monday.
WRC-TV/News4 has more details of what actually happened:
"Officials tell News4 the assault happened just after 7 p.m. Monday at McPherson Square, where demonstrators have been encamped for over two months.
According to police, two men were fighting in the park. During the fight, one of the men groped the other. He was taken into custody, and has been charged with fourth degree sex assault."
UPDATE, 4 p.m.: WTOP reports that prosecutors are not filing charges against the man accused of sexual assault, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office. An earlier headline on this piece has been updated to reflect that Occupy DC has not confirmed the sexual assault itself, but has confirmed that the man accused of sexual assault was removed from McPherson Square.
Flickr photo by mdfriendofhillary, used under a Creative Commons license.