Twenty-four members of OccupyDallas were arrested on Monday outside of Chase when they locked arms in front of the bank and refused to move. Protesters and supporters of the Occupy movement entered the bank to close their accounts. Throughout the past week, several hundred people in the Dallas area have signed the petition requesting account closures.
The OccupyDallas movement prepares to begin its fourth week on Thursday. Monday's response marks the first time Dallas Police have moved in to arrest protesters.
While others held signs and chanted slogans protesting the influence of corporate greed on the legislative process in Washington, D.C., two dozen protesters sat down in front of the entrance to the bank and locked arms. They formed a barricade three rows thick and ignored demands from police to move out of the way. After a final warning, police began arresting protesters and took them to the Lew Sterrett jail downtown. Members of OccupyDallas followed and sat outside the jail to await their fellow release.
The OccupyDallas movement began Thursday, Oct 6 with a march from Pike Park to the Federal Reserve building. Over 1,000 people gathered to protest corporate greed and money influencing the government. The movement currently has more than 120 members occupying City Hall Park in downtown, with hundreds more joining in daily for marches to various corporations and banks throughout the city. The movement stands in solidarity with similar Occupy movements happening across the nation and the world, including the original Occupy Wall Street protest that featured tens of thousands of marchers and continues to grow.
For more information, contact Michael Prestonise at news@occupydallas.org. More information, including additional multimedia content, can also be found at www.occupydallas.org.