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Protesters ordered to leave

PITTSBURGH — Occupy Pittsburgh protesters have three days to leave a downtown park owned by Bank of New York Mellon Corp., a judge said Thursday.

Judge Christine Ward said in an opinion that no law “permits a group of people to take over someone else’s private property.”

The judge also ruled that the protesters have damaged the property and that the ongoing trespass meets the legal standard of “irreparable harm” to BNY Mellon.

As many as 100 protesters, who complain about economic inequality and what they say is corporate greed, have camped on Mellon Green park since Oct. 15, but that number dropped to only a handful with the onset of winter. The bank sued in late December, saying that it owned the land and adding that the park is normally closed each winter anyway.

The Occupy group planned to hold a general assembly to discuss its options, member Torry Seely said.

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