The crowds were dispersed Tuesday night, and US Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie says there were no arrests in the incident.
However, people inside the White House were being prevented from exiting on the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the building as the situation was being resolved.
Ogilvie says there were 1,000 to 1,500 protesters at one point. He said something appearing to be a smoke bomb was thrown over the fence and that the device was being removed.
The protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement converged on the West Lawn of the Capitol to decry the influence of corporate money in politics and voice myriad other grievances.
Organizers had touted the rally, known as Occupy Congress, as the largest national gathering of Occupy protesters to date and secured a permit that would have allowed up to 10,000 people to participate.
The Occupy movement began in September when protesters pitched tents in a lower Manhattan park. The movement has since spread to dozens of cities, including Washington. While many cities have moved to evict the protesters, the National Park Service has allowed encampments to remain in two public squares near the White House.
The protest comes amid numerous polls that show 84 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing, near an all-time low.
The Occupy movement includes activists who want to change government from within and anarchists who oppose all government. Tension between the two camps was evident at Tuesday's gathering, where some taunted police while others participated in earnest group discussions about how to influence their elected representatives.
No comments:
Post a Comment