Four protesters were arrested Wednesday as they tried to force their way into the annual Bank of America shareholders’ meeting in Charlotte
(Becket Adams) Four protesters were arrested Wednesday as they tried to force their way into the annual Bank of America shareholders’ meeting in Charlotte, and police used a new ordinance to declare the gathering an “extraordinary event” subject to special restrictions.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Major Jeff Estes said four men were charged with crossing a police line, a misdemeanor.
The incident is the result of a nationwide protest organized by a group that calls itself “99 Percent Power,” according to Reuters.
“From May 6 to 9, people from across the country and world will be converging on Charlotte, North Carolina, home of Bank of America, which will be staging its annual shareholder meeting, to demand an end to practices that are bankrupting our economy and wrecking our climate,” Brigid Flaherty writes forOccupy.com.
“Homeowners, students, immigrants, environmentalists, workers, women’s groups and peace activists will be standing up for justice Wednesday in the Wall Street of the South, bringing their stories, hearts and communities to the fight against Bank of America for its criminal role in home foreclosures, job loss and unemployment, corporate control of democracy and the financing of environmental degradation,” she adds.
And although the call to arms didn’t result in a 1,000+ person rally (as organizers predicted), an estimated 500 to 750 protesters showed up. Hundreds of protesters gathered on the streets as dozens of police officers worked to contain the crowd.
