Occupy makes small, shrill showing at courts

Police officers arrest an Occupy protester outside a Bank of America branch Jan. 20, 2012, in San Francisco. / AP Photo

NEW YORK - An elaborate plan to occupy courthouses in cities across the nation started off quietly on Friday, with only a few dozen demonstrators turning out to protest a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that removed most limits on corporate and labor spending in federal elections.

Move to Amend, the grassroots coalition that organized the event, said protesters in more than 100 cities would launch petition drives to gain support for a constitutional amendment that would overturn a 2010 court ruling that allowed private groups to spend huge amounts on political campaigns with few restrictions. Occupy Wall Street activists have joined forces with the group.

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In Washington, D.C., only about 150 protesters made an appearance Friday morning outside the U.S. Supreme Court, a small crowd compared to the average protest in the nation's capital. About two dozen protesters drew occasional honks from passing drivers as they stood outside Baltimore's federal courthouse with signs that read: "Corporations are not people, Money is not speech," and "B-heard: Corporate money out of politics."

A demonstration of about 100 people outside the federal courthouse in Minneapolis included chants and street theater. One skit included a judge who performed a marriage ceremony between a person and a corporation.

In Albany, about 50 demonstrators carried placards and a cardboard coffin labeled "Democracy RIP." And several dozen protesters in Denver went inside the Capitol to meet lawmakers after the protest.

In San Francisco, several protesters chained themselves to the front doors of Wells Fargo's corporate headquarters and linked arms to prevent people from going inside a Bank of America branch. No arrests have been reported so far.

But in St. Louis, just four people showed up for a planned gathering outside of City Hall. They hung around for several minutes before leaving without a rally. Those who did attend blamed the frigid weather — blustery winds and temperature in the low 20s — and an apparent lack of communication.

It was a far cry from Occupy protests in the fall, when hundreds gathered around the clock at a small downtown park near Busch Stadium.

"Back in October it was easy to find out what was going on," said 51-year-old Don Higgins of St. Louis. "You just went down to Kiener Plaza and asked somebody."

The turnout was similarly small in Indianapolis, where protester Ken Chestek, a professor at Indiana University's McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, lamented the fact that only 15 people showed up for a demonstration against Citizens United v. FEC.

"When I heard the Citizens decision announced on NPR two years ago, I started screaming, `This is the end of the republic,"' he said. "To give corporations political power, that's the end of democracy."

Activists in New York scrambled to move their protest after a judge ruled Thursday that demonstrators don't have a First Amendment right to protest in front of a federal courthouse.

Protesters had filed a lawsuit asking the judge to overturn the government's rejection of their permit application. The permit was denied on grounds that the courthouse poses unique security concerns.

In a statement late Thursday, Move to Amend said the rally would be moved to Foley Square, near the courthouse, and that activists would focus on organizing the protests rather than appealing the ruling.

[RichZubaty]

God bless these people for braving the bitter weather to bring attention to the corporate cancer in our government. It takes money and connections to be elected/appointed as a judge and so only the corporate sympathizers and lackeys become judges. Enough already, of these conservative activist judges making laws instead of just interpreting them. The Constitution never gave them that authority. The principle of "Judicial review" is an abomination. A throwback to the House of Lords and the divine king.

[nancy_naive]

Guillotine -- The Best 99% Solution Yet.

[reee14]

The article makes it sound like the Wells Fargo protest was the only thing that happened in San Francisco, but it was one of 10-20 events that took place that day. Among those events, a few hundred showed up that afternoon to protest at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/84478020@N00/6734884455/)

[dgj44]

You can see the arrest on the ustream video at the link:

www<DOT>ustream<DOT>tv/recorded/19889126

where replace <DOT> with a period.

[endcorporatecontrol]

Here is a video of the #J17 occupy congress action. It's pretty funny, pink slips delivered to boehner, bachman and the rest of the gang. http://youtu.be/7SH5zip6HyI

[randomites]

These people all look like escapees from an Oregon commune.

[raccman1]

Look like and probably smell like too !
What a pathetic pack !

[sandiegopete]

As the middle class continues to experience a decline in its income while the upper class enjoys increasing prosperity we will see the Occupy movement grow until it cannot be conrolled. The goal of the Occupy movement is to take control of the government from corporate interests and create a democracy where all the citizens have a say in government, not just the wealthy.

[sandiegopete]

The middle class will not shrink into obscurity. If you think you can beat down the majority of a population of over 300 million people and in that way control them you are very wrong.

Those of you who have such hatred for the idea of a democracy in America are fighting a losing battle. Sure, you have control of the government but you do not have control of the people.

[involved_indi]

Dozens... I tell you dozens of people showed up.... LOL!!!

[sandiegopete]

When you see a one line comment like this it is likely from a paid poster who gets 25 or 40 cents a post, hence the brevity of the comment. They can't just come out and say they are supporting a fight against democracy in America so they just make sophmoric comments.

[realtimecoffee]

You don't have to be long winded to make a point.