Occupy DC Protesters Take Over K Street, Dozens Arrested

WASHINGTON -- At least 60 protesters were arrested on K Street NW, the historical lobbying hub of the nation's capital, as they blocked four key intersections, shutting down the street for much of the afternoon Wednesday.

Lasting more than an hour, a standoff between Occupy Wall Street protesters and D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department resulted in at least three dozen arrests near Franklin Square at 14th and K Streets NW. Police used horses for crowd control, and picked apart protesters who linked arms and went limp with their bodies.

Police on the scene did not have a complete count of how many were arrested along the K Street corridor on Wednesday, but the number was reported by National Lawyers' Guild observers and protesters to be near 60.

Most of those arrested were charged with blocking a highway, as Occupy protesters began setting up tents and quite literally occupying K Street, blocking all traffic on the heavily-traveled downtown thoroughfare that is also Route 29. Metrobus and D.C. Circulator bus services were impacted.

Occupy DC protesters had marched through the rain to meet up on K Street with "Take Back the Capitol," a union-backed protest organized by groups like OurDC, the SEIU and Rebuild the American Dream, around 12:30 p.m. Immediately upon arriving and swelling in number to nearly 700, the protesters took over the intersection of 16th and K streets.

Members of Occupy DC began to get frustrated, however, with Take Back the Capitol's attempt at crowd control. Occupy DC protesters, joined by a large number of Occupy Wall Street protesters from at least a dozen other states, began to spread to the next intersection at 15th and K Streets, adjacent to Occupy DC's home base of McPherson Square.

Demonstrators quickly began dragging tents, garbage cans, chairs and tables into the intersection.

Within an hour, Occupy protesters had blocked three intersections along K Street, stopping all traffic. Police rushed to keep up, but did not try to stop the protesters. To the contrary, a mix of city police, park police and Department of Homeland Security officers helped prevent cars from trying to drive through the protesters. At one intersection, protesters tipped over newspaper boxes to use for blocking traffic and standing upon.

Meanwhile, as Occupy protesters kept spreading, 20 demonstrators were arrested at 16th and K Streets.

As protesters began forming lines along two sides of the 14th and K intersection, police gave them three warnings using a loudspeaker before moving in.

Protesters decided to link arms and were arrested without major conflict. D.C. cops then used three police horses to move the crowd out of the street.

After the first arrests, Occupy demonstrators laid down and linked arms in a line of more than two dozen people.

Approximately 100 protesters with Occupy DC marched on Podesta Group's G Street NW headquarters downtown at 11 a.m. They chose Podesta because the firm has worked for BP, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and many other notable clients. The firm was co-founded by John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.

Take Back the Capitol marchers protested at the offices of Verizon, GE and the American Bankers Association. Most of them marched away from the Occupy DC-lead group at 14th and K Streets before the showdown with police began.

Shortly after 4 p.m., police said traffic was flowing smoothly again.

Many protesters present traveled from other Occupy Wall Street-inspired protests in states from Texas to California, Wisconsin and Massachusetts for a week of protests in Washington. Some told HuffPost they got rides to D.C. by taking advantage of the SEIU's buses.

HuffPost's Hayley Miller contributed reporting.

 

 

Comments

[labuyu]

08:47 PM on 12/30/2011

Yet another small group of hooligan OWS miscreant flea-baggers. If you were to interview each of them individually, you would soon discover the vast majority have no idea what they are protesting about nor do they have a viable solution.

[maxfax]

02:39 PM on 12/11/2011

Takeover K-Street, the only way to save America and its citizens, not "citizens united."

[london2z]

05:16 AM on 12/11/2011

My idea is simple. The ramifications are enormous, though. I say a movement might be started on the web to get as many workers around the world on a pre-set date to walk-out, and lead to a possible, (at-least partial), global work shutdown. And stay shut down until the powers bend over and accept a new one- world, democratically-elected representative body of all the planetary citizens, and an end to borders. As well as wars, poverty, human rights abuses, discrimination, etc. You see, we either all sink, or we all swim to better waters.
Things could then be constructed in a way that distributes power more equally among the world’s populations. Local committees from each region, comprised of elected officials could then be connected to the rest of the representative bodies around the world. No need for a central power. No need for military or police. Any sort of global police force would be potentially feared, and could lead to more problems than without. Especially if only law abiding citizens were allowed to arm themselves. I’m against weapons, morally. But it beats having to have police. And police show up after crimes are committed, anyway. It’s a little late by then.
Then a type of economy that gives the profits back to the workers, while at the same time being co-owned by all the workers, would work well in conjunction with competition from within to keep prices down, and diversity in the marketplace.

[Kommonman]

06:15 PM on 12/10/2011

I see alot of posts about being inconvenienced by the protestors...Now that is a shame that you feel inconvenienced by folk who are out there braving the cold, arrest and your derision to protest the injustice in our nation that you are just to lazy or complacent to do anything about. It is a shame that your sense of entitlement, as you sit there in your comfy little nest, allows for no other thought than how you have inconvenienced by people who have more conviction than you do as you sit there watching Dancing with the Stars or football. To sit there claiming to support a movement but in the same breath claim incovenience to your life indicates a deep rooted problem in your true values. Protests are not tidy little affairs to be watched or discussed while you sit there siping your wine spritzers. They are disruptive by their very nature to bring attention to the causes that are just when complacency sits in the souls of the masses. No fight for justice and equality is ever a nice tidy affair as history has plainly shown. Justice and equality must be ripped from the hands of the corrupt as they will not willingly relinquish the power or privilege they have stolen from the people. So go ahead sit there and complain of your inconvienced existance while the real soldiers for justice fight on your behalf despite your not deserving one ounce of that justice.

[RobParker]

06:06 AM on 12/10/2011

power to the people

should the day come that people are rioting and looting in mass, we'll probably look back at these comparatively harmless demonstrations and remember them as good old days. this movement will not die and has the apparent advantage in being grossly underestimated.

i would hate to see the definition of a narrow scope for this movement. that was the great shortcoming of the hippie movement. that it ended after the main objective was realized when the u.s. pulled out of vietnam.

[kelly clover]

01:30 PM on 12/09/2011

Although Obama has made a big deal about the payroll tax cut extension, i'm far more angry about
the gop filuibuster of Richard Cordray. It's obvious that Republicans were bribed by the deep pockets
of financial industry lobbyists. 9 of these republicans who filibustered are running 4 reelection in
2012. We must get rid of them. The OCCUPY movement must take strong measures to make this
happen. Otherwise greedy financial institutions will continue ripping people off.

[elizabeth lerer]

01:18 PM on 12/09/2011

The fairytale of "homeland" and "security" exposed.
Big business, purveyors of war, and politics have teamed up against people and the environment.
It is time to do away with this unholy trifecta.

[Moderate Centrist]

12:43 PM on 12/09/2011

Until these points are made clear in the statements of the "Occupy" and "99 percent" movement, they will continue to be unsuccessful in their quest.

[Moderate Centrist]

12:48 PM on 12/09/2011

I don't have a history of posting comments in huffingtonpost and I apologize for not posting the 4-parts in reverse order so as to have the comments appear correctly.

[Moderate Centrist]

12:43 PM on 12/09/2011

(continuation)
a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all regardless of station, race, or creed.
Among these are:
The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the Nation;
The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
The right of every family to a decent home;
The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens. For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world."

[Moderate Centrist]

12:42 PM on 12/09/2011

(continuation)
FDR's Second Bill of Rights or Economic Bill of Rights Speech.

"It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth- is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill housed, and insecure.

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our Nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. "Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all regardless of station, race, or creed.

(continued)

[Moderate Centrist]

12:42 PM on 12/09/2011

I have waited long enough to print this as I still find it surprising that I have not seen a comment like this posted anywhere. The "Occupy" and "99 percenters" would have been better off from the beginning of their movement with a well-defined and well-organized message - like the Tea-Partiers have had all along. All they needed to do was learn from and repeat history. The right-wing is very well aware of what happened in 1937 when governent spending was clamped down and our country was thrown back into the Depression and as long as one of their candidates is not the President of the United States, they want to do whatever they can to make that part of history repeat itself. I don't understand why the "Occupy" and "99 percenters" do the same and just state that what they, what most Americans, want was stated in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1944 State of the Union Address known as FDR's Second Bill of Rights or Economic Bill of Rights Speech.
(continued)

[maxfax]

02:42 PM on 12/11/2011

You are correct, if the OWS and 99% had the corporate organization and money like the t-party it would have pushed further. But without the $$, they've changed the topic, proving money can only buy you so much, power to the people, to OWS- they've proven $ "ain't everything."

[angiedailey628]

12:33 PM on 12/09/2011

"a mix of city police, park police and Department of Homeland Security officers helped prevent cars from trying to drive through the protesters."


Why?

[lovmydan]

10:41 AM on 12/09/2011

Wake up people. This movement is necessary. It is time to take our country back!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DZ5rrom93aQ
Take the time, watch the video. Do not be fooled. Do not let them convince you everything is ok because it is NOT okay!

[Martin Miller]

10:00 AM on 12/09/2011

What a sad group of idiots!

[tteknulpkram]

08:23 PM on 12/09/2011

I think you're talking about congress.

[Robbert Hoekstra]

07:39 PM on 12/08/2011

Isn’t this what Hussein Obama has been doing since he got into Office? Taking from the middle class and giving to his cronies and the Unions? What happened with all the billions of “Stimulus” dollars that he “donated” to the “submerging” US companies. What did he do with the billions of dollars the “recovering” banks and car companies have returned.? Whose pockets did those disappear into? Since moving into the White House the Obamas have obtained the “Millionaire” status while millions of US citizens are out of work, homeless and living in extreme poverty while they are taking vacations and flying in jumbo jets at taxpayers’ expanse. If the “Occupy Wall Street” anarchists want to have their “Bastille Day” they should go after the Sun king and Mary Antoinette and start at the White House.
A Merry Christ-Mass to you all.

[tyger]

10:41 AM on 12/09/2011

You are so stupid and sad. I guess your home rock blocked your sight to the Bushwack economy collapse. Hopefully you will be really homeless and hungry soon.

[tteknulpkram]

08:24 PM on 12/09/2011

What planet are you from?