A protester waves a flag next to a bonfire in Oakland on Thursday. (AP)

Oakland (California), Nov. 3 (Reuters): Police in riot gear clashed with protesters in Oakland early this morning, firing tear gas to disperse demonstrators lingering in the streets after a day of mostly peaceful rallies against economic inequality and police brutality.

The confrontation, which erupted after midnight, appeared aimed at preventing the protesters from expanding their foothold in the streets around a public plaza that has become a hub for demonstrations in the northern California city.

More than 200 officers, some of them ferried on buses, lined up shoulder to shoulder and donned gas masks, then declared the crowd to be an unlawful assembly and fired volleys of tear gas as protesters turned and ran. A few activists paused to pick up canisters and hurl them back at officers as they fled. “This was peaceful until you came!” protesters shouted at police.