Occupy in red states/blue states
In two short months, Occupy has spread from a protest in lower Manhattan to all 50 states, claiming support in states labeled both "red" and "blue" (plus those somewhere in-between). In that time, protesters from across the political spectrum have spoken out for the "99 percent" vs. the one percent richest in the country, seeking to change the national conversation away from government austerity and tax cuts (which dominated the debt ceiling negotiations earlier in 2011) to the corporate and lobbying money and influence that precipitates the political process.
Left: "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrators face off with police in New York's financial district, October 14, 2011.
By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan
Alabama
Left: Nicholas Adams gathers with dozens of other protesters on the steps of the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery, Ala. on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 for an Occupy Montgomery rally. Besides Montgomery, CBS Affiliate WAKA reports there have been protests in Mobile, Huntsville and Birmingham.
"These corporations have to be held responsible," protester Lena Bosheh told WAKA. "They buy our politicians with campaign money, and our voices have to be heard."
Alaska
Left: People make their way along Cushman Street during the Occupy Fairbanks march through downtown Fairbanks, Alaska Saturday, October 15, 2011. Hundreds of people turned out for the event to show their concern and disapproval for the government.
Occupy Anchorage set up camp in Town Square Park in downtown Anchorage for the second weekend on Oct. 16, 2011. CBS Affiliate KTVA reports approximately one hundred people assembled to protest corporate greed.
"The greed, the lack of financial regulation, and the apparent inability of our elected officials to represent the people rather than the lobbyists," Occupy Anchorage demonstrator Michael Mason told KTVA.
Arkansas
Left: A crowd of protesters walks to the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011.
After occupying a site at the President Clinton Library, Occupy Little Rock agreed on October 24, 2011, to move to a new occupation site at 4th and Ferry Streets equipped with legal city permits and facilities provided by the city, reports CBS Affiliate KTHV.
Arizona
On Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011, an estimated 1,000 people attended the Occupy Phoenix event that began with a noon rally at Cesar Chavez Plaza and ended with dozens being arrested, CBS Affiliate KPHO reports. Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said there were no major incidents or injuries at the demonstration, but arrests were made later in the day as the crowd moved to Hance Park, where 45 people were arrested after refusing to leave after the park's listed closing time of 10:30 p.m.
"It makes me more motivated toward it," arrested protester Peter Szayer told KPHO after his release Sunday night. "I may not look motivated, I'm a little tired, pardon me. But I definitely feel more motivated, and I feel like I did the right thing with all this and I hope that more people come join us."
A smaller crowd of about 100 occupied Cesar Chavez Plaza again Sunday where a CBS 5 News crews witnessed one more arrest - a former soldier refused to the leave the inside of the park after it closed at 6 p.m.
Left: Occupy Phoenix protesters stand along Washington Avenue October 17, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona.
California
Oakland police fire tear gas as they prepare to move in to Frank Ogawa Plaza to disperse Occupy Oakland protesters on Tuesday. Oct. 25, 2011 in Oakland, Calif. Police in riot gear began clearing anti-Wall Street protesters on Tuesday morning from the plaza in front of Oakland's City Hall where they have been camped out for about two weeks. A 24-year-old ex-Marine, Scott Olsen, who served two tours in Iraq, suffered a skull fracture when he was hit by a projectile fired by police.
Outrage over the police actions and Olsen's injury prompted candlelight vigils, a call for a general strike, and further tensions with police and elected officials - and a reinstitution of the protesters' tent site. Clashes a week later led to further arrests; another marine veteran, Kayvan Sabeghi, was hospitalized in the ICU after he was arrested, said Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Colorado
Left: A policeman in riot gear points his weapon at demonstrators as police arrest a protester at the Occupy Denver camp on October 29, 2011.
Following a march by protesters, police tried to tear down some newly-erected tents at the encampment and scuffled with demonstrators. Police detained about a half dozen people, pepper-sprayed others and reportedly fired projectiles filled with pepper spray at the crowd.
Organizers told CBS Station KCNC that the clashes detrimental to the movement. "We want to be talking about Wall Street. We want to be talking about campaign finance reform. We don't want to talk about First Amendment rights," Jason Roth with the Occupy Denver movement said. The group held a peace vigil asking for protesters to stop inciting police, saying they can't afford another scene.
The city also feels the same way. Councilwoman Deborah Ortega told KCNC Denver police spent $300,000 on crowd control.
Connecticut
Left: Protesters stand in front of General Electric chief executive Jeffrey Immelt's home, in New Canaan, Conn., on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011.
Jon Green, director of Connecticut Working Families, said about 100 people, including protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement, gathered outside Immelt's gated home. Green said Immelt needs to understand people are suffering as GE makes billions in profits while not paying corporate taxes and shipping jobs overseas.
GE spokesman Andrew Williams said the company paid over $1 billion in taxes last year. But a study released Nov. 3, 2011 by Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy revealed that between 2008 and 2010 GE paid $0 in federal tax on total pretax profits of $10.4 billion.
Delaware
Left: An Occupation Delaware Rally in Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington, Del.
On November 5, 2011, members of Occupy Delaware set up tents at H. Fletcher Park in Wilmington in a site designed as a graveyard, to protest economic inequality and government greed. The group will decide whether to remain H. Fletcher Park or move to Brandywine Park, as they await word from local officials about remaining in the park overnight.
District of Columbia
Left: Demonstrators walk through the make-shift tent city as part of the Occupy D.C. demonstration at Freedom Plaza, in Washington Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011.
Demonstrators marking the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan were joined in Freedom Plaza by protesters sympathetic to the burgeoning Occupy Wall Street protest, expanding the rally to include causes about health care, home foreclosures and education spending.
Florida
Left: Midorie Padin, Elizabeth Loveday, Estefania Parada and Mariana Keene participate in an Occupy Miami protest on October 15, 2011 in Miami, Florida.
Occupy Miami marches continued throughout October to, they told CBS Station WFOR, "bring awareness of the corrupt banks and financial institutions of our community."
Among the protest participants who camped out overnight was Kimo Nour: "Yeah I hardly got any sleep but that's because I was inspired - you know, it was a good thing, I guess." Nour was willing to stay "as long as it takes to be recognized, because right now we've been branded as a bunch of liberals, hippies, just bums really. We're not - we're people just like everyone else. We're the 99 percent."
Georgia
Left: Protesters march towards the State Capitol during an Occupy Atlanta demonstration, Oct. 15, 2011.
Police arrested 52 protesters Oct. 26, 2011 who had refused to leave Woodruff Park, after Mayor Kasim Reed rescinded his executive order allowing them to stay in the park despite a ban on overnight camping.
Mawuli Davis, an attorneys representing the protesters, said the demonstrators were within their constitutional rights. "They were exercising their First Amendment rights," Davis told CBS Affiliate WGCL. "That First Amendment right is protected at 11:01, 11:02, midnight, even in the city of Atlanta, even in the park."
Hawaii
More than 200 people joined Occupy Honolulu in a march down Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki Beach Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. "We know a lot of the hotels in Waikiki, for example, are owned by big corporations like Goldman Sachs, and they don't treat their workers very well, and that's not the spirit of aloha," protester Sadie Green told CBS Affiliate KGMB.
Elaine Shirley, who was part of anti-war protests in the '60s, took part in the march as well: "It's more important than going to the beach or watching a game or something," she said. "This affects people's lives."
Left: Members of Occupy Honolulu hold banners during a rally denouncing the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit during the student-hosted 'APEC Night' held at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Campus on on Thursday, November 3, 2011 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Idaho
Protestors march through downtown Boise, Idaho, Wednesday Oct. 5, 2011. More than 100 people withstood an afternoon downpour in Idaho's capital to protest.
When plans were announced by Occupy Boise protesters to set up camp downtown and stay "as long as it takes," Boise resident reacted with aplomb: "I don't think it's going to be an eyesore or detriment," Glen Westendorf told CBS Affiliate KBCI. "I think it speaks well of Boise."
"That's their right, you know, why not?" said Stephen Diggs, another Boise resident.
Illinois
Chicago Police arrested about 175 Occupy Chicago protesters who refused to leave Grant Park Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, following a march from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. More than 2,000 people marched and set up two-dozen tents in Grant Park with the goal of staying the night.
A week later, protesters returned to Grant Park during an Occupy Chicago march, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, in Chicago. Along the way, police on horses blocked marchers from walking on the street on Michigan Avenue, leaving them with just the sidewalks to occupy. Police then arrested 130 people, many of whom had been arrested the week before.
Indiana
Left: More than a thousand demonstrators gathered in Veteran's Plaza in Indianapolis on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 for Occupy Indy, a protest against everything from bank foreclosures and corporate influence in politics to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and unemployment.
CBS Affiliate WISH reports the demonstration caught the attention of passers-by - some honking in support, and others berating them from passing cars.
Iowa
Left: More than 30 protesters with the group Occupy Iowa were arrested at the Iowa Statehouse in Des Moines on charges of trespassing, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011, CBS Affiliate KCCI reports. "The State Patrol came and pepper sprayed and smashed their faces into the concrete and picked them up and arrested them," said Tizzy Hyatt, an Occupy Iowa protester. Officials downplayed reports from those arrested that police had used pepper-spray and physically assaulted demonstrators. Sgt. Scott Bright of the Iowa State Patrol told KCCI that only one person was maced and that wrestling with tightly-linked protesters can be physical: "When people get into a situation like this and people start locking their arms, it might look like we're using force on them," said Bright.
A judge later ordered those charged with trespassing to pay a $100 fine plus court costs, surcharges and a $125 law enforcement initiative surcharge - about $300 in total. An attorney for many of the protesters, Sally Frank, said 24 of the protesters pleaded not guilty and are demanding jury trials.
Kansas
Members of Occupy Wichita displayed signs in downtown Wichita, Kan. on Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. CBS Affiliate KWCH reports that protesters gathering repeatedly along Douglas Avenue are a diverse group: Several are college students; one woman is a devout Christian who says she's tired of "Christian values used as a cover for corporate corruption"; Another woman emigrated from Mexico 25 years ago. One man is a Vietnam veteran, with kids in college.
"Look around," said Bill Anderson. "It's extraordinary. You got geezers like myself, you got kids, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians."
And business major Ashley Lundblom: "I want to start my own business and I'm not sure we are going to have the funds or the economy to support my business," Lundblom told KWCH. "I'm $20,000 in debt right now and I'm not even done with school."
Kentucky
Democratic candidate for Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson, left, speaks Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, as members of the Occupy Ashland group appear in background, in Ashland, Ky.
CBS Affiliate WKYT reports the Occupy movement has spread to the state's capital. "This is fairly radical for a place like Lexington," said David Madden, who with fellow protesters occupied the sidewalks outside Chase Tower hoping to promote awareness of economic disparity they attribute to corporate greed.
"Now a bachelor's degree and a master's degree is not worth what a high school diploma was worth forty years ago," Madden said. "People just feel like they have been pushed, their backs are to the wall, and they have no choice at this point but to push back."
Louisiana
Left: People parade down Tulane Avenue during the Occupy NOLA parade in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests Thursday, October 6, 2011 in New Orleans. The group started at Orleans Parish Court before heading past City Hall and onto Lafayette Square.
Maine
Left: Paul Slattery of New Mexico (front), Derrick White of Augusta (center), and Howard Little of Augusta, Me., wave to passing motorists in Augusta on Monday, Oct. 17, 2011. More than two dozen Occupy Augusta activists camped out during the weekend in an expansive park across the street from the State House, saying they'll stay indefinitely in hopes of getting across their belief that government has failed the people by choosing instead to bow to the wishes of major corporations.
CBS Affiliate WGMY reports that by early November the Occupy Maine encampment in Portland had grown to about 35 tents. The group met to talk about what they will need to do to make it safely through the winter, including looking out for the signs of frostbite or hypothermia.
Maryland
Baltimore City officials took a stand to get Occupy Baltimore protesters to leave McKeldin Square. On Wednesday night, Nov. 2, 2011, they turned off the electricity in the area.
One protester was sanguine about it: "People have spent thousands of years living without electricity," Philip Hoyle of Occupy Baltimore told CBS Station WJZ. "I can see people making ways around it again."
Massachusetts
Left: Occupy Boston demonstrators block an entrance to the Federal Reserve Bank behind a police line in Boston, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011.
Protesters who camped in Boston's Dewey Square - and who were joined in marches by union members, students and veterans - were generally left alone until they occupied an area of the Rose Kennedy Greenway that was declared off-limits. On October 11, 2011, police arrested 141 people.
Michigan
Left: Members of Occupy Southwest Michigan, a spinoff from the New York protest movement Occupy Wall Street, hold up picket signs outside City Hall in Niles, Mich., on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. The protest drew about 40 people and followed an Oct. 12 rally by the group in the community that drew about 100 people.
Occupy protest movements have also formed in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Traverse City.
Minnesota
Left: Protesters gather during a demonstration held by Occupy Minnesota, at Hennepin County Government Plaza, Friday, Oct. 7, 2011, in Minneapolis.
On October 16, 2011, CBS Station WCCO reported law enforcement officers removed about a dozen tents set up by Occupy Minnesota on the plaza of the Hennepin County Government Center, in defiance of a county directive. Some members of Occupy Minnesota praised the way police and sheriff's deputies carried out the removal. "The police weren't really that mean. They were actually pretty nice and informative," one protester told WCCO.
Mississippi
Left: Members of the Occupy Jackson and Occupy Mississippi movement (from left: Jim Cunningham and Dennis Ford, both of Jackson, Miss., and Fairfax Ewing of Ridgeland, Miss.) gather at Smith Park in Jackson, Miss.. Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011.
CBS Affiliate WJTV reports more than 100 strong marched to the steps of the Mississippi State Capitol.
Missouri
Left: Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis where Occupy St. Louis protestors have camped out, Nov. 3, 2011. The mayor of St. Louis said he wants Occupy St. Louis protesters to prepare to leave the downtown park where they've been camped out for weeks.
The city has left the protesters alone to date. But CBS Affiliate KMOV reports Mayor Francis Slay warned protesters in a blog post Friday that they're breaking the law and need to leave Kiener Plaza.
City officials say preparations are underway for the Salvation Army's annual tree-lighting starting, and Macy's Holiday Festival of Lights, and they can't let protesters monopolize half of the plaza.
Several demonstrators said Friday they'll risk arrest to remain in the plaza. Others said, while they thought the mayor's decision disappointing, they could not risk arrest and would reluctantly depart if asked.
Montana
Left: Nearly 60 protesters gathered in Helena Saturday, Oct. 17, 2011 to show solidarity with the growing Occupy Wall Street movement.
About 15 people turned out for an Occupy Billings demonstration on Oct. 28. The group wants to change campaign laws and would like to see every member replaced in Congress.
"This isn't about Republicans or Democrats or whoever," said Holly Daniels, an Occupy Billings member told CBS Affiliate KTVQ. "This is anybody who wants to come out and thinks there is something wrong with this country and it needs to be changed. Getting the money out of politics affects both sides of that fence."
Meanwhile, some figures in the state GOP Party retaliated against the Occupy Wall Street message with a message of their own - "Liberate Main Street." KTVQ reports Rep. Denny Rehberg spearheaded the initiative that, instead of blaming Wall Street, blames government involvement as the source of the nation's economic problems.
"We're over-taxed in small business, over-regulated, and over-litigated, and you can pick and choose which ones you want to address, but the government should be trying to lessen the tax burden, lessen the regulatory burden, and get the litigation out of the way," Rep. Rehberg said.
Nebraska
Left: Sarah Jones stands outside the Nebraska State capital during Occupy Lincoln. People set up tents on the lawn in front of the building on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011.
"Right now the game is rigged. If you're not one of the one percent, you can't play in the sandbox," Tom Tetherow, one of the protesters, told CBS Affiliate KOLN.
Gregory Mertz said, "What we have today is not capitalism in this country. What we have today, we have a very few people, who are very greedy, who are taking advantage of the system."
On November 3 police arrested three people while evicting Occupy Omaha protesters from a parking lot near downtown. The group remained defiant. "We aren't going to give up just because we got scared out of the parking lot Thursday morning," one told CBS Affiliate KMTV.
The three arrested, charged with criminal trespassing on city property, face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.
Nevada
Left: Tony Gonzalez, a protester affiliated with the Occupy Las Vegas movement, takes part in a march on the Las Vegas Strip October 6, 2011.
The Reno City Council voted to grant Occupy Reno protesters a three-month special event permit to occupy city property on a 24-hour basis, CBS Affiliate KLAS reports. Occupy protests have also been held in Carson City and Lake Tahoe.
In Las Vegas, protesters obtained a 30-day permit to camp in a vacant lot near McCarran International Airport and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins said officials have no plans to kick the protesters out: "Being that we are the number one destination for everything, we know how to handle everything from boxing to races to rodeos. So I don't see any problems."
New Hampshire
Left: Members of Occupy New Hampshire hold a General Assembly meeting Oct. 9, 2011, at White Park in Concord, N.H.
New Jersey
Left: Jaime Vazquez, a Vietnam War veteran, chants during an Occupy New Jersey protest outside the Goldman Sachs building on Hudson Street in Jersey City, October 6, 2011.
New York
The Occupy Wall Street movement began in New York's Financial District, where demonstrators against the political power wielded by corporations and banks settled into an encampment at Zuccotti Park - a public-private space where, to their surprise, they were legally entitled to camp.
Although the city has tolerated the protesters for nearly two months, police actions against their demonstrations - including a mass arrest of 700 marchers on the Brooklyn Bridge and the macing of penned-in women - provoked outrage, and spurred sympathetic demonstrations across the U.S. and overseas.
Left: Occupy Wall Street protesters march around One Chase Manhattan Plaza on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011 in New York.
New Mexico
Left: Supporters of Occupy College get pumped up Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011, at New Mexico State University before marching through the campus to the bookstore at NMSU. The protest was inspired by Occupy Wall Street.
On October 22, police subdued a 48-year-old man who lunged with a knife at a group of protesters gathered near the University of New Mexico in Alburquerque. About 100 people were in the area when Miguel Aguirre - described by police as a homeless man who also was drunk - pulled out a knife and attempted to stab several protesters. No one was injured.
Police said protesters felt threatened when Aguirre held a knife with a 6- to 8-inch blade and asked, "Who wants to be first?"
CBS Affiliate KRQE reports police had to resort to using a Taser gun on the man when he refused to follow their instructions. KRQE reports Aguirre claimed he has a personal connection to UNM and was just trying to protect it from the protesters camping out there, according to police.
North Carolina
Left: On the 13th day of the Occupy Raleigh protest, members of the group stood in solidarity with a disabled woman who had sat in a chair on a sidewalk to protest outside the State Capitol when police came to arrest her, October 27, 2001.
"The question is, 'Why is someone who is disabled, sitting on a chair, arrested?' Is there more to that story? Is there a better reason for that?" asked Mayor Charles Meeker.
CBS Affiliate WRAL reports that the cost of having police officers at Occupy Charlotte and Occupy Raleigh is topping $1,000 a day in both cities. "Those folks have the right to protest and I would stand in front of a freight train to protect their First Amendment rights," Charlotte City Councilman Andy Dulin said. "But at some point we have to say, look, y'all come back during the day.
Protesters say their gatherings are peaceful, and 24-hour police protection is unnecessary. The Occupy Charlotte camp is pitched downtown, across the street from police headquarters, and at least one police car and officer are watching the protest 24 hours a day.
North Dakota
Left: An Occupy Bismarck rally in Bismarck, N.D.
Among those attending the rally was Eric McCommon, who said the middle class is hurting while the rich keep getting richer. "We're not anti-capitalism; we want to make money. We are just so fed up with some much of the wealth being in the hands of so few," she told CBS Affiliate KXMB.
"Go to Western North Dakota and you can see that corporations are taking over everything and that is not [what] we are about here in North Dakota."
Ohio
Left: A group of protesters demonstrate for passing motorists on Courthouse Square on Oct. 5, 2011 in Dayton, Ohio. More than 50 people participated in the rally.
Occupy protests have been held in other Ohio cities, including Akron, Columbus, Cleveland, Youngstown, and Cincinnati, where protesters camped in Piatt Park have been arrested.
Oklahoma
Left: Several officers of the Tulsa Police Department escort an arrested member of the Occupy Tulsa movement who was pepper-sprayed at Centennial Green in downtown Tulsa, Okla., early Wednesday morning, Nov. 2, 2011. Police warned demonstrators that they were in violation of a city curfew and gave them the choice of leaving before forcibly removing demonstrators sitting in a circle at the park shortly before 2 a.m.
The City Council has denied a permit to Occupy Tulsa, who are asking that fees for liability insurance and curfew requirements all be waived as they infringe upon their constitutional rights to speak and openly assemble, CBS Affiliate KOTV reports.
Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett released a statement saying, "We will not subsidize or allow the taxpayers to subsidize this demonstration."
Oregon
Left: Protesters with Occupy Portland march across the Burnside Bridge in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011. CBS Affiliate KOIN reported police arrested about 30 protesters, dragging and carrying them to waiting vans, after they refused to leave a park in an affluent district of Portland. Protesters had marched to the Pearl District, with some saying they viewed its residents as part of the wealthy demographic they're protesting.
Pennsylvania
Left: Occupy demonstrators march from City Hall to the Wharton School of Business at Pennsylvania University Friday, Oct. 21, 2011 in Philadelphia.
On November 2 hundreds of members of Occupy Philadelphia marched from their encampment to the headquarters of cable television behemoth Comcast, ten men and women were arrested after a sit-in in the lobby, reports CBS Station KYW. The gathering at Comcast Center came after a march on Bank of America and the center city office of U.S. Senator Pat Toomey.
Rhode Island
Left: Jay Wills, of Providence, R.I., paints a sign in preparation for a march from downtown Providence, R.I. to Brown University, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011, in support of the Occupy Wall Street protests. The march, part of Occupy Providence, concluded at Brown University where they attended a talk called: "Thinking Crisis: Thinking Change Teach-in."
On Saturday November 5, 2011, CBS Affiliate WPRI reports a lone individual wreaked havoc on the Occupy Providence camp in Burnside Park when a man who later identified himself as a college student ran through the camp around 2:30 a.m., vandalizing several tents, shouting obscenities, and even stealing some food. Members of Occupy Providence's Safety and Support Group eventually apprehended the man with non-violent measures and handed him over to the Providence Police.
However, after a unanimous vote by the entire Occupy assembly, the protesters decided not to press charges, but rather voted for him to deal individually with the people whose property he damaged. They also agreed to have the man attend two different Occupy sessions - an orientation workshop and a non-violence training session.
South Carolina
Left: Kareem Pratt, holds a sign as he stands along Gervais Street in front of the South Carolina Statehouse during the Occupy Columbia demonstration in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011.
Thirty-year-old Kyle Lacio, who found out about the Occupy movement via Facebook, told CBS Affiliate WLTX, "I think part of business as usual is politics where a lot of us have sat back, and maybe we vote but we're mostly observers, and I think the time to step up and become a participant is now."
South Dakota
On November 1, 2011 CBS Affiliate KCLO spoke with participants at an Occupy Rapid City protest.
"We could sit at home and complain like everyone has in the past, but that hasn't gotten us anywhere," Karen Buxcel told KCLO. "So we've decided to take some action and get out here and start to talk."
"Too many people are used to identifying everything with left and right, or Republican or Democrat, or liberal or conservative. But we have people who have come from various viewpoints," Robert Rivers said.
"I think that it's hard for some people to get up and stand up and speak because they feel that their voice doesn't do anything," said Alex Jensen, 13. "But to be honest, each and every voice helps to make the 99 percent."
"How we are governed is the most important conversation young people and old people like myself can have these days," author and protester Elizabeth Cook-Lynn told KCLO.
Tennessee
Left: Protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street Movement are seen at the Tennessee Capitol, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's office approved a pre-dawn roundup of Wall Street protesters from the State Capitol grounds for violating a park curfew. Twenty-nine people were arrested, but a night judge refused to sign warrants. The following evening, 26 more protesters were arrested, and the judge again refused to sign their warrants.
The police backed down the third night and the demonstration continued.
Occupy Nashville protesters announced they would march against Nashville Electric Service, after an investigation by CBS Affiliate WTVF into spending by NES executives uncovered thousands of dollars spent on lavish meals and trips - and even alcohol - on the taxpayer's dime.
Texas
Left: Protestors shout slogans during a rally outside Houston's City Hall Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Dallas, Houston and Austin on Thursday as cities around Texas joined the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations demanding an end to corruption in politics and business.
On October 24, 2011, CBS Station KTVT reports that 23 Occupy Dallas protesters were arrested for criminal trespassing after a group blockaded the entrance to a Chase Bank branch downtown. Fifty protesters were outside the bank at about 2 p.m., some of whom were locking arms and blocking the entrance. Police blocked traffic in the area, brought in vans and plastic handcuffs and approached the group. The officers then used force to remove the protesters.
Utah
Left: Occupy Salt Lake City marches in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Protesters set up camp in Pioneer Park for several weeks. Warner Woodworth, a BYU professor who supports the movement, explained to CBS Affiliate KUTV why he felt the community (and police) were more accepting than in other cities: "In Utah we have a long history of peaceful problem-solving and collaborative problem-solving, and I think that's a lot of what the Occupy Wall Street is all about."
Vermont
Left: More than a hundred protesters are expected to camp out after a rally at City Hall Park, October 28, 2011, in Burlington, Vt.
By early November Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss sent a letter to protesters stating that the "wait and see" approach being taken with their tent site will continue, reports CBS Affiliate WCAX, though he's made it clear that the police department could decide to enforce the park's no camping ordinance at any time.
"We understand that our being here is contingent upon following some of the city ordinances," said protester Will Hurd. Protesters passed resolutions addressing the concerns raised by the mayor and others. "We weren't responding to the mayor's concerns," said Hurd. "We were responding to our own concerns."
Virginia
At about 1 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31, 2011, police began a raid to evict Occupy Richmond from Kanawha Plaza in Richmond, Va. The group, in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and nationwide protests, has been camped there since Oct. 15. Bulldozers collected tents and other items and deposited them into dump trucks.
Washington
Left: Seattle Police on horseback push back protesters, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, as they remove tents pitched in downtown Seattle's Westlake Park and arrest those who refused to leave them during an "Occupy Seattle" protest.
On November 2 several hundred Occupy Seattle demonstrators protested in the rain 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 also arrested 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.
West Virginia
Left: Participants in Occupy West Virginia.
After moving their demonstration-camp from Charleston's Haddad River Front Park over a scheduling conflict, Occupy Charleston protesters have been asked by city officials to leave Davis Park. Deputy Mayor Rod Blackstone said the power that had been supplied to the park has been cut off, and said a long-term occupation at Davis Park is not realistic.
At a planned rally at the State Capitol, organizer Laura Wilmeth said the protesters have no plans to leave. "We're in it for the long haul," Wilmeth told CBS Affiliate WOWK.
Wisconsin
Left: Protesters stand at the corner of Water Street and First Avenue in Eau Claire, Wis., during a Occupy Eau Claire rally on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011.
Former Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold told CBS Affiliate WISC that he supported the movement: "You know, people have a limit, and they're up to here with this," Feingold said.
Feingold said criticism that the mission of the movement appears ill-defined at the moment, and said what matters is that there's a loud voice not asking - but demanding - change.
"We have to get corporations away from dominating our political process," he said. "We have to overturn the Citizens United decision that has created the most destructive situation at least in 100 years, if not in the whole history of the country."
Wyoming
Left: Marilyn Mullen stands in support for the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement during the Casper, Wyo. rally on Center Street Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 Over 50 people held signs and American flags in support of the demonstration which is trying to achieve change in government tax law, asking the wealthy to pay an equal percentage of taxes that the working class pays.
By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan