Friday, March 16, 2012

Police in New York arrest several Occupy protesters


The US police have arrested several 99-percenters who attempted to occupy a Bank of America branch in Manhattan, New York, in protest against home foreclosures and corruption, Press TV reports.


The Thursday arrests were made after the protesters moved to take over the bank by unloading furniture in front of the building.

“Today, the whole point was to stage a home scene inside of Bank of America to call attention to the fact that so many people have lost their homes because of Bank of America’s policies, and because they are able to do this because of support from the American government,” a protester said.

The protesters use the slogan, "We are the 99 percent" to distinguish themselves from the one percent Americans, who are in possession of the greatest portion of the nation's wealth.

The protest was held as part of the nationwide Occupy movement.

The movement owes its inspiration to the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protests, which began when a group of demonstrators gathered in New York's financial district on September 17, 2011 to protest the excessive influence of big corporations on the US official policies and the high-level corruption in the country.

The police in the US have made thousands of arrests as part of the crackdown on the movement since its emergence.

A rally similar to the one in Manhattan has been held in front of a Bank of America branch in the city of St Louis on the eastern border of the state of Missouri.

Four years ago, the bank received USD 15 billion in bailout fund consisting of taxpayer money in order to stay solvent.

The bank remains a leader in home foreclosures across the country.

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