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Over the last two weeks, protesters in New York have participated in a “occupation” of Wall Street. It’s been quite a story — with police referencing antiquated mask laws to arrest protesters, accusations of Yahoo! censoring emails, more people getting arrested, the formation of an “Anti Hippy Protester Champagne Toast on Wall Street,” a lot more people getting arrested, the NYPD resorting to force and pepper spray, and targeting photographers, and visits from Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon and Dr. Cornel West. From what we can tell, it’s been a real scene.
It appears now as if there is a movement afoot to spread the occupation to the East Coast’s second seat of power — last night, DCist received word from a tipster that “several hundred” people are planning to converge on McPherson Square tomorrow in a protest “in support of, and in conjunction with the protesters in New York operating under the banner of Occupy Wall Street.” The email comes from an individual involved with an organization called “Occupy DC/Occupy K St”, and promises that some involved in the plans “will be staying the night and occupying the space indefinitely.”
The protest is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. tomorrow. The letter from our tipster is below:
To whom it may concern,
I am emailing on behalf of the individuals (numbering just over several hundred planning to attend on facebook in 24 hours) who are in the process of organizing and planning for #occupydc.
This is in support of, and in conjunction with the protesters in New York operating under the banner of Occupy Wall Street.
As you know, the New York group started small, held their ground and stayed in the public park for over two weeks now. Their size fluctuating but increasing despite harassment by the police and a lack of media coverage at the on-set. This has provided an outpouring of support from around the country, including here in our Nation’s Capital.
For this reason, Occupy DC/Occupy K St. has been organized.
The Plan : Beginning Saturday Oct. 1st 2011 a rally will begin to occupy McPhearson Square in the heart of the District of Columbia. The choosing of this site was two-fold. 1.) You do not need a permit if your crowd is less than 500 people. 2.) Located on K St., the Square is the epicenter of the problem in DC : Corporate Money and influence in our politics, the income disparity, the lack of political equality in the system, and the gridlock which prevents our leaders from enacting the structural change to protect our society for future generations.
There is no telling the size and scope of the rally or where things will go, but it has become apparent that the outrage we all feel about where are society is going is shared by one and all in the 99%. For this reason, I invite you to come, observe, participate, and record the event. Some of us will be staying the night and occupying the space indefinitely, but you are not obligated to do so. All we really want is for our voices to be heard and for REAL, and TANGIBLE change to come to our society, which is currently being suffocated by the 1% and their lobbyists on K St.
