'Occupy LA' Protesters Rally Against Corporate 'Greed', Poverty
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Hundreds of Angelenos marched through downtown L.A. Monday night, the latest in a string of nationwide protests against what they call corporate greed and social injustice.
KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports the tent city of Occupy LA moved Monday to the north lawn of City Hall.
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"Occupy LA" put together the demonstration at First and Main streets after announcing its solidarity with a grassroots movement that began its second week in New York on Monday called "Occupy Wall Street".
Protesters began their march at City Hall at 5 p.m. Monday and wound their way through the city's financial district. The march was scheduled to coincide with the "Occupy Wall Street" protests in New York City.
"We need to stop putting all our faith in the elected leaders of the two political parties and create our own force to change things and stop being about greed and corporate profit," said one protester.
The demonstration is aimed at the heads of the biggest banks and corporations in the U.S. in the wake of billions of government bailouts since 2008 and a growing unease about the direction of the nation's economic future.
Looking out at the signs carrying slogans like "End Corporate Greed", "Government for the People not the Banks" and "I am part of the 99%", protester Jeff Bradford said the multiple issues on peoples minds are garnering the attention of the public — even if organization is lacking.
"What we're trying to do is congeal, consolidate and sharpen that to something a little more focused," he said.
Retirees and college students alike have joined numbers of unemployed people in the demonstration, which organizers told reporters they plan to continue for the foreseeable future.
Police arrested 700 protesters in New York when they blocked access to the Brooklyn Bridge, but no disturbances have been reported at the downtown L.A. protest so far.
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