CHAPEL HILL -- A SWAT team of more than 25 police officers arrested a group of demonstrators Sunday afternoon and charged them with breaking and entering for occupying a vacant car dealership on Franklin Street.

Officers carrying semi-automatic weapons rushed the building unannounced at about 4:30 p.m. They pointed rifles at those standing outside, and ordered them to put their faces on the ground. Police surrounded the building and cleared out those who were inside.

About 13 people were put on the ground, arms spread out, and hand-cuffed. Eight people who were in the building at the time of the arrests were cuffed and put on a Chapel Hill Transit bus to be taken to the police station. An officer at the scene said they would be charged with breaking and entering.

Those who had been outside of the building at the time of the arrests were detained and then let go after their pictures were taken.

Police blocked off four blocks of West Franklin Street with six squad cars and a fire truck while officers removed signs the demonstrators had hung in the former dealership’s show room windows.

A crowd of between 50 and 75 people gathered across the street, watching and taking pictures. As the bus pulled away the crowd jeered police officers, chanting, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” When someone noticed the Wells Fargo advertisement on the side of the bus, the onlookers began chanting “Who do they protect? Wells Fargo! Who do they serve? Wells Fargo!”

Police learned that about 70 people broke into the former dealership on Saturday through a book fair associated with the Occupy encampment in downtown Chapel Hill and decided to monitor the group overnight to minimize a confrontation with a large group and minimize risk of injury, according to a press release issued by the Chapel Hill Police Department released about three hours after the arrests.

"Chapel Hill Police officers gathered additional information and verified the presence of known anarchist members in the group. Officers also learned that strategies used by anarchists in other communities included barricading themselves in buildings, placing traps in buildings, and otherwise destroying property," the release said.

Police waited until Sunday afternoon, when they said the crowd had reached a manageable size, and rushed the building, hand-cuffing and detaining 13 people.

"Based on the known risks associated with these groups and the tactics employed in the Yates building, the Chapel Hill Police Department utilized its tactical team to secure and enter the building and remove the illegal occupants," the release stated.

Eight people who were located inside the building were arrested for misdemeanor breaking and entering, and transported to appear before the magistrate in Hillsborough.