SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Dozens of Occupy protesters chained themselves to doors at Wells Fargo bank headquarters in San Francisco yesterday, while hundreds more demonstrators across the United States rallied against corporate campaign donations.
Activists in San Francisco aimed to disrupt the city’s financial district as part of “Occupy Wall Street West” by targeting 22 bank branches and other financial industry offices. At least 11 protesters who had chained themselves to a rear entrance to the Wells Fargo headquarters were removed and arrested for trespassing, but police allowed other protesters to remain chained to other doors of the building.
“It’s peaceful and many banks have taken steps to mitigate the impact, so it’s an ideal situation,” said San Francisco Police Commander Richard Corriea. Wells Fargo told many employees to work from home, he said.
Donna Vieira, 42, a real estate appraiser, said she was protesting because the bank “unfairly” foreclosed on her home in Reno, Nevada, last year.
“I can get it back if the attorney general takes action,” Vieira said. “Nobody is going after the big banks. And loss and pain and suffering doesn’t matter to the regulators.”
