Occupy America – Day #21: 74 Arrests Around the Country – Not in New York City

Huge crowd in New York City – Occupy Wall Street – Wed, Oct 5, 2011.

Update: Day #21 of Occupy America – the movement that began on September 17th at Wall Street.

The following is a summary of very recent Occupy actions around the country, over the last 24 hours.  We counted 74 arrests from around the country of demonstrators by police.

Occupy Santa Barbara – at De La Guerra Plaza:  9 occupiers arrested in plaza by local police at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday – enforcing city law prohibiting overnight camping or demonstrations in city parks. Protesters were given several hours advance notice before any arrests were made, police say.  By noon, a small group was back in the plaza, saying they plan to stay  tonight calling their movement a revolution. Santa Barbara Police say they will keep enforcing all local laws.

Occupy Chicago –  outside the Federal Reserve Bank at LaSalle and Jackson; After 12 days of occupation, there is increased pressure on the demonstrators. Since Sept. 23, Occupy Chicago has been utilizing the sidewalk in front of the Federal Reserve Bank building to raise awareness. The spotless occupation area currently boasts a live webstream and technology hub, space for group meetings, a library, a water distribution center, a makeshift cafeteria, blankets and clothes, a live music area, a protest rhetoric gallery and congregation area.

UPDATE Occupy Chicago: Chicago Police Department orders Occupy Chicago to stop occupying or risk citation and arrest. Group decides to move its headquarters to twin sites nearby the Federal Reserve, all the while while retaining a shifting, peaceful, and lawful presence outside the Fed.   The group will additionally meet twice daily, at the Federal Reserve Bank at 3 pm, and at Millennium Park at 7pm for a large-scale, open, and inclusive General Assembly.

 Occupy Fresno – 150 rallied Thursday outside the U.S. District Courthouse in downtown Fresno.

 Occupy Vermont – Burlington’s City Hall Park attracted about 150 people; the actions are to continue every Sunday as long as the Wall Street protests remain in effect.

Occupy Las Vegas – A diverse group of more than 1,000 people marched on the Strip to the chant of “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out” Thursday; the protesters marched in a loop between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road from 4 p.m. to just after 7 p.m. Word of the event spread largely through social media, with many participants hearing about the protest on Facebook.

 Occupy DC – About a thousand rallied at Freedom Plaza  on Thursday along with anti-war demonstrators.

Occupy DC.

 Occupy Portland – 5,000 demonstrators marched peacefully through downtown Portland. They didn’t obtain a permit for their march, as the group decided late Wednesday not to seek a permit or to submit a route in advance. “For best impact,” the group stated in a fax to Portland Police, “we will march in the streets and disrupt the city.”  No arrests were made, but public transportation was halted along certain streets.  Demonstrators will choose a base tonight and settle there indefinitely.

 Occupy Ashland, Oregon – About 15 people handed up fliers and waved signs. More people were expected today and tomorrow for a 2-day action. Upon threat of having the prohibition of camping at a local park enforced by police, organizers decided not to camp out.   Today’s protest ended with a two-hour general assembly starting at 7 p.m. in the Plaza. It will pick back up again Friday at 9 a.m. and continue until 9 p.m., again ending with a two-hour general assembly.

Occupy Seattle – About 50 demonstrators remain in Seattle’s Westlake Park Thursday, without tents. They believe  that the arrests of 25 people Wednesday boosted their morale to continue protesting the political power of corporations.  Police moved in after demonstrators refused to remove tents, which are not allowed in parks.  Protesters set up camp in the Seattle park last weekend in support of the Occupy Wall Street.

 Occupy San Antonia – a group of mostly young people, numbering about 200 at its peak, staged a sidewalk march through downtown San Antonio to the Alamo, the Grand Hyatt, CPS Energy offices, federal offices, Main Plaza and City Hall. About 30 protesters planned to spend the night at HemisFair Park, where the chants and cheers continued past sundown.

Occupy Houston – Several hundred protesters  converged in downtown Houston on Thursday to demand greater social and economic justice. The local protest began at 8:30 a.m. at Market Square Park with about 150 protesters — many carrying placards and chanting — who then marched to the J.P. Morgan Chase Bank Tower before moving on to City Hall.  The crowd grew through the day. A speaker told the crowd  “We have officially occupied Hermann Square Park. We are not going anywhere until the people are heard.”

Occupy Philadelphia – By noon Thursday an estimated 300 people had gathered on the public concourse. Some with tents and food were prepared to spend the night, the weekend, the week or weeks — whatever it takes, they say, to effect change. Police said they  were allowing the protestors to sleep on the concourse — as homeless people routinely do — as long they did not impede workers from getting into and out of their offices.  By time it was over, a thousand people had attended.

Occupy Los Angeles – Ten protesters were arrested at a downtown Los Angeles Bank of America branch on Thursday afternoon, after a group marched inside the bank and tried to cash an over-sized $673 billion check made out to the “people of California”. The ten were arrested after refusing to leave the bank.  Outside 1000 people crowded close to the bank. Earlier in the day Thursday, Occupy L.A. protesters took over the intersection of 7th and Figueroa streets, prompting police in riot gear to respond to the scene. Protesters also covered Bank of America ATM’s with caution tape.

Occupy Las Vegas protest, Oct 6, 2011. Photo by Judith Starker.

Occupy Sacramento – Up to a couple hundred protesters marched in front of the state capitol building. In the early morning hours, Police began arresting a group of about 19 Occupy  protesters about 12:40 a.m. today- Friday. The protesters were either lying or sitting at the entrance to Cesar Chavez Park at Ninth and K streets.   After a series of warnings, police arrested the protesters one by one and were bringing them into nearby paddy wagons.  Protesters had vowed to spend the night at the park Thursday, in violation of a city ordinance that prohibits camping in undesignated areas.  And police had vowed to enforce the park’s closure at 11 pm.

 Occupy San Francisco – Police officers in riot gear arrived at the site of the Occupy SF encampment located in front of the Federal Reserve Bank early Thursday morning, and ordered protesters  to dismantle their tents which were obstructing the sidewalks on Market Street in the city’s Financial District. Police informed protesters that they could remain at the site as long as they put away their tents. The group decided to comply with officers’ demands. The Occupy SF website alleges that the group faced brutality and theft from police and Public Works officials. “The police stole food, water, shelter, and other necessities of life from the 99% at Occupy SF,” the website claims; there is also a claim that a woman was struck by a police officer, and that another member of the group had been “kidnapped” by police;  one person was in fact arrested on accusations of assaulting an officer.

Occupy movement in Texas: Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio on Thursday as cities across Texas joined the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations demanding an end to corruption in politics and business.

• Upwards of 300 marchers worked their way to the Federal Reserve Building in Dallas, which police fortified with metal barriers.
• Houston police estimated that 200 people marched from the J.P. Morgan Chase building to City Hall.
• In Austin, a crowd gathered outside City Hall and swelled to about 1,300 by early evening, police said. Many waved signs things like, “End the Fed” ”I graduated from college and all I got is debt” and “Greed is evil. I am the 99 percent.”

 Occupy St. Louis – Protesters demonstrating against corporate greed have vowed to stay in Keiner Plaza downtown despite 11 arrests Wednesday night and more possible arrests tonight.

 Occupy Nashville – 300 rally at Legislative Park.

 Occupy Tampa – More than 200 people have turned out this morning in Lykes Gaslight Square in downtown Tampa.

 Occupy New Jersey – Actions both in Trenton and Jersey City: about 75 people linked arms in front of the Goldman Sachs building in downtown Jersey City around 2 p.m. Thursday. In Trenton, about 50 protesters had set up camp at a World War II memorial across from the state Capitol on Thursday afternoon. Some brought sleeping bags and planned to remain overnight.

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