Chicago police said on Sunday they arrested about 175 protesters in a downtown plaza where some had set up tents and sleeping bags in a protest inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York.
The protests attracted more than 2,000 people to a march from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to Grant Park, which had been the site of anti-war protests during the 1968 Democratic convention.The protesters were arrested for allegedly violating a city ordinance by being in the park after it closed and ignoring repeated warnings from police to leave, police said.
The protest was one of many in a global day of demonstrations on Saturday that started in Asia and Europe and rippled around to the United States and Canada. Demonstrations were held in dozens of cities including Washington, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Toronto.The Occupy Wall Street movement has been gathering steam for the past month, culminating with the global day of action on Saturday. The protests worldwide were mostly peaceful apart from Rome, where the demonstration sparked riots.
But it was unclear whether the movement, which has been driven using social media, would sustain momentum beyond Saturday. Critics have accused the group of not having a clear messageThe protesters say they are upset that the billions of dollars in bank bailouts doled out during the recession allowed banks to resume earning huge profits while average Americans have had no relief from high unemployment and job insecurity.
They also believe the richest 1 percent of Americans do not pay their fair share in taxes and want a more equitable economic system.The Chicago group had protested outside the Fed building for 23 days prior to relocating on Saturday.
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