Egypt's three-week long sit in against military rule, known as "Occupy Cabinet" is taking a terrifying turn as the ruling military junta has resorted to throwing rocks and using violence against this set of "Occupiers." Having seen the many different (including jokey) permutations of the Occupy Movement stateside, it's all a bit stark and shocking seeing those same symbols (the picture on the right is from graffiti on the "ministerial cabinet street..."), the same viral touchstones and that moniker translated (and co-opted) by Arab spring protesters who are now one part of a violent fight that transpired on Egyptian streets today. Today's violence comes as voting closed in the latest round of parliamentary elections. Egyptian news site Ahram online reports that the fight erupted early Friday morning and is still unfolding into what sounds like a full on riot . "Men in plainclothes continues [sic] to throw rocks and glass from the Cabinet building on protesters down below in Qasr El-Aini Street", they report adding that:

Protesters have set a police kiosk by the Cabinet building on fire to disrupt the security forces attacking them from the roof. The dense plumes of smoke forced the assailants to retreat briefly. However, now that smoke has begun to fade, they are back in plain view throwing stones and other projectiles at the protesters in Qasr El-Aini Street.

And not unlike the viral videos that accompanied the Occupy Movement in the U.S. of pepper spray cops and injured protesters, viral evidence of the violence have begun to pop up under the #OccupyCabinet hashtag on Twitter.  What looks to be cell phone pictures of the injuries (warning: graphic), and people praying despite the falling bricks are being passed around, as well as video (below) of  "Army Throwing Rocks At Protesters in Qasr Al Ainy".  

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at aabadsantos at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Alexander Abad-Santos