Protest Group Occupies Bank Of America Lobby
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Approximately 50 protesters from the group ReFund California occupied the lobby of a Bank of America building in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, refusing to leave until staffers faxed a demand letter to a B of A board member.
Around 2,000 protesters swarmed the downtown LA area to make a statement about major banks and their impact on the economic climate.
"Big banks crashed the economy," said rally participant Amy Schur. "It's time to make them pay up."
The smaller group of demonstrators who entered the Bank of America plaza building set up tents and hoisted signs with sayings such as "make banks pay." The group occupied the lobby for around one and a half hours.
Schur said after some back and forth with staff members, the ReFund America demand letter was faxed to B of A board member Monica Lozano.
The protest group, supported by dozens of labor unions held two major rallies in Los Angeles Wednesday as part of a statewide effort. Other protests were held across California to demand banks give back to communities in order to assist with layoffs, government program cuts, and tuition increases.
An earlier demonstration held near the campus of UCLA resulted in a dozen arrests after protesters chained themselves together and blocked traffic at a major intersection at Wilshire and Westwood Boulevards.
RELATED: Protesters Arrested After Sit-In Shuts Down Westwood Intersection
