Occupy Oakland protesters clash with police

Updated at 5:03 a.m. Eastern

OAKLAND, Calif. - Police and protesters supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement clashed downtown following a day of peaceful protests throughout Oakland.

The confrontation began after protesters started a large bonfire in the middle of a downtown street. Dozens of police in riot gear moved in on hundreds of protesters as the flames leaped more than 15 feet in the air from several large metal and plastic trash bins that had been pushed together.

Police warned protesters to clear out before firing several rounds of tear gas and "flash bang" grenades to clear the area.

A reporter for CBS Radio station KCBS saw at least 30 arrested protesters being led away by police.

Occupy Oakland shuts down port
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Special Section: Occupy Wall Street Protests

In the aftermath of the police actions, protesters with cloth wrapped around their faces to protect them from the stench of the gas marched through the area chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets."

Some marchers wore gas masks.

Glass covered streets and sidewalks from windows of area businesses that were shattered.

Graffiti on the wall next to one of the damaged shops read, "This act of vandalism was not authorized by the general assembly. Peaceful protest."

Shortly after the clash, police and protesters separated by only a few feet stared each other down in a tense standoff. A few dozen people sat on the ground right in front of officers, some with their heads bowed as if in prayer.

There were scores of police in riot gear on the scene, about as many officers as demonstrators.

The clash and subsequent standoff came only hours after Occupy Wall Street protesters declared victory after thousands of demonstrators shut down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports late Wednesday, escalating a movement whose tactics had largely been limited to marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September.

Occupy Oakland demonstrators stand on top of a parked semi truck as thousands marched from downtown Oakland, Calif., to the port of Oakland, Nov. 2, 2011.

/ AP

The nearly 5-hour protest at the Port of Oakland, the nation's fifth-busiest shipping port, was intended to highlight a daylong "general strike" in the city, which prompted solidarity rallies in New York, Los Angeles and other cities across the nation.

Police estimated that a crowd of about 3,000 had gathered at the port at the height of the demonstration around dusk. Some had marched from the city's downtown, while others had been bused to the port.

The demonstrations in Oakland were largely peaceful until the evening skirmish.

Meanwhile, several hundred Occupy Seattle demonstrators protested in the rain Wednesday night outside a hotel where JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon was invited to speak.

Police used pepper spray to clear a side entrance so Sheraton Seattle Hotel patrons could enter or leave, The Seattle Times reported.

Six protesters were arrested Wednesday afternoon for criminal trespass and obstructing at a Chase Bank branch in a Seattle neighborhood.

Police also used pepper spray on that earlier crowd when at least 10 officers were physically assaulted while putting the arrested protesters in a paddy wagon, police spokesman Jeff Kappel said. At least two officers suffered minor injuries, he said.

Police did not immediately return a call Wednesday night to say whether they made any arrests outside the Sheraton.

Dimon was the keynote speaker at a University of Washington Foster School of Business leadership celebration.

Occupy Seattle demonstrators say Dimon is an example of an overpaid executive responsible for foreclosures and questionable corporate behavior.

"Shame on Chase" was a popular chant among protesters outside the hotel.

And in New York City, the home of the Occupy Wall Street movement, thousands of U.S. military veterans heeded the rallying cry on Wednesday, saying corporate contractors in Iraq made big money while the troops defending them came home - and can't make a living now.

"For too long, our voices have been silenced, suppressed and ignored in favor of the voices of Wall Street and the banks and the corporations," said Joseph Carter, a 27-year-old Iraq war veteran who marched Wednesday to Zuccotti Park, the epicenter of the movement that has spread worldwide.

The former Army sergeant from Seattle spoke to fellow Occupy protesters and passersby on Broadway after joining about 100 veterans marching in uniform from the Vietnam Veterans Plaza through Manhattan's financial district nearby.

Their unemployment rate outstrips the national average and is expected to worsen. They worry about preservation of First Amendment rights. And they're angry.

A week before Veterans Day, generations of former U.S. military men and women threw their considerable weight behind the Occupy movement born in mid-September when about 100 protesters also marched in the Wall Street area.

[cbamr]

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[noloyalisti]

I would say that 99.9% of the 99% are peaceful. There will always be some in any massive revolution who go a little crazy (like in the 70's when the government was killing the young) and there is always the right wing provocateur factor as well.

[AmericasConscious]

That's not what the media is showing us.
The reason they go a "lot" crazy is because most of them are nuts!
Too bad this isn't the 1970's so give it a rest.
Those bad old days are long gone.

[Scarlet1766]

I see a lot of name calling here, which speaks volumes as to the validity of this being an actual debate, and that goes for those on the Left and the Right. This sort of behavior makes this tantamount to children bickering. Reconsider your tone and wording if anyone is to take what you have to say seriously and with respect to your right to your beliefs.

In regards to those that denigrate the 1% that are showing support to the Occupy movement, I would like you to consider the following quote from Martin Niemoller who was a pastor in Germany during World War II:

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Although I cannot speak for the 1%, it is my personal belief (which you may disagree with) that this is the sort of motivation that is compelling them to stand with the Occupy movement. I also believe that many of those supporting them have backstories that remind them that if a certain twist of fate had not happened in their favor, they could very well be in the same position as the protesters.

Many people are responsible for the situation that is going on in this country, but I do believe the tax system is disproportionate to the Haves and the Have Nots. I am currently working two jobs to make up for the hard times I suffered the past two years when I was laid off and could not find work. I support the Occupy movement because there are thousands of those like me that are not lazy nor looking for a handout that can still not make ends meet through circumstances that were out of their control, the very circumstances that are be protested. I hold the government AND Wall Street equally responsible. That doesn't mean though that protest is not needed to reform both institutions. After all, if it were not for protest of injustices, the American Revolution wouldn't have happened at all, and I assure you, the colonists were just as disorganized as you believe the Occupy movement is when they started out.

[simon6447]

Wow. I am so glad that at least one person has the grace to talk like so sensibly. No anger, no fear, peace and love.

Thank you from New Zealnd

[dantom39]

Great news for california must have learned this from tea party NO

[phuyay]

The protestors have made their point; there are Wall Street excesses and many big companies that pay no Federal taxes. Congress and the president have a lot to say about these wrongs. The protestors should shift their attacks to Washington and demand action. Otherwise, they are just provuing to be nothing more than anarchists with no agenda, no leadership and will soon wear out their welcome especialy if they resort to violence as they did in Oakland last night.

[KnowerseekerReturns]

The article doesn't state if the purpose of the bonfire was to endanger the area, block traffic, or simply provide heat for the protesters, who had their personal heating appliances taken away by the cops, or some combination of the three. I do not doubt that there are criminal elements among the protesters, which is unfortunate, and I wonder if something could be done about *just* them. Changing subject, I didn't know before that veterans are having such trouble finding work. If there is a majority of them throwing their weight behind the Occupy movement, then that may be a game changer for Occupy. Let us hope (and pray) that they can bring more legitimacy to the movement.

[RobAla]

The confrontation began after protesters started a large bonfire in the middle of a downtown street. Dozens of police in riot gear moved in on hundreds of protesters as the flames leaped more than 15 feet in the air from several large metal and plastic trash bins that had been pushed together.

These people are vandals.

This is not a protests that is respectful of law and of the citizens in the community. This is a mob of vandals.

Some of the "occupy people" are all about someone else being on the hook to pay their student loans, and others are all about someone else being on the hook to pay their medical bills. The "occupy people" have the gall to talk about GREED. These people are some of the most self centered and greedy people I have heard of.

Many of them are socialists, a philosophically flawed and silly system that is doomed to fail because it ignores human nature. Socialism has failed all over the world, because it is unrealistic. They want a heavy handed federal government to confiscate wealth from one group of working Americans, and give the money to them - for doing nothing. They seem to think that a heavy handed government would never come after them one day for something. These are not smart people. They are childishly self centered and greedy, and they are childishly naive.

The Tea Party people sought legal permits to protest, and they paid the fees for the permits. After protesting, they cleaned up after themselves and went home (allowing the citizens of the community to have access to their parks - which their taxes paid for).

The "Occupy People" are squatters, who obtained no permits, they have trashed parks and streets, and they have not allowed the citizens of the communities access to their own parks and streets.

Now, which group should be the model for our children? Which group honors their fellow citizen?

[KnowerseekerReturns]

Totally slanted comments, especially anytime the money-grubbing and power-hungry capitalists start confusing (democratic) "socialism" with communism; that's when the entire argument sinks from dishonesty. Lying capitalist businessmen and bankers: what a novel idea!

[jaymagoo]

you say "many of them are socialists" I say, people become socialists when they see the bulk of the wealth of the country being gobbled up by the richest 1%. The rich keep getting richer, keep getting more and more control of everything, keep forcing ordinary people out of work and out of our homes, and we can only sit back and watch. Right now the richest 5% owns more than half of everything, including cash, stocks and bonds, property, land, factories, yachts, ships, waterfront estates, etc., etc. And they keep getting more, and the rest of us keep losing more and more. And when we say we want at least a tiny share of America's wealth, idiots like you call us socialists. If this country becomes a socialist country, where the majority of the people take back ownership of everything, the rich have brought it upon themselves. Your name-calling makes you sound stupid.

[rockychance]

This is what Obama wants because he hopes it will get the left wing excited about voting but it is only going to show the main stream of voters what all this class warfare garbage the democrats have been playing is really about. Mainstream America will now reject the democrats big time.

[ImaJWalker]

Obama Justifies FEMA imprisonment of civilians!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mPZlysCAm0&feature=related

IMPEACH THIS GUY NOW!!!!

[ImaJWalker]

If you haven't seen this video, watch it now.

FEMA Camps, Martial Law, and Civil War Coming Soon! (2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Q8rcUD5Ds