Four Occupy Congress protesters were arrested Tuesday as they gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol, Politico reported.
One man - William Griffin - was charged with assaulting a police officer while three others, Clinton Boyd, Nathaniel Schrier and Heron Boyce were each charged with crossing a police line, according to Capitol Police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider.
Politico adds:
Demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street are camped out at the West Front Lawn of the Capitol for what they call a “day of action against a corrupt political institution.” The group also plans to march later to the Supreme Court and the White House.
The Washington Post noted that demonstrators came from across the country to protest "corporate money in politics," while demanding Members of Congress pay attention to their concerns.
The Post reported:
At mid-afternoon, dozens swarmed into the Rayburn and other House office buildings, waving banners and chanting, “We are the 99 percent!” The group planned a large march from the Capitol to the Supreme Court to the White House at 6 p.m., and organizers said they expected “many” to be arrested.
Turnout was far less than expected, as organizers had hoped thousands would attend. Instead, only about 500 showed up, according to the Post, "riding buses and hitching rides from cities including Orlando, Nashville, Los Angeles and New Haven, Conn."
“Congress is not paying attention to ordinary citizens because of corporate money in politics. This is the general message: Our voices aren’t being heard,” said organizer Mario Lozada, who added that Occupy congress was borne out of a frustration many have with Congress.
Annie Gowen and Katie Rogers added:
Deb Van Poolen, 42, an organic farmer who is living in the Occupy camp at Freedom Plaza, glowed as she described the guerrilla theater she and fellow protesters pulled off in the office of Sen. Carl Levin (D), from her home state of Michigan. The costumed Occupiers staged a play with mock terrorists and a mock “Levin” behind bars before real police arrived and warned that they would be arrested.
“The theme of today is letting Congress know we are here and we’ll have a presence and they need to listen to us,” Van Poolen said.
More on Occupy Wall Street at examiner.com can be found here.
-----------------------------------------------------------
If you like this article, you can follow Joe on Twitter @jnewby1956, visit his Facebook page, or click the Subscribe button to receive email updates when a new article is published.
