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'Day of Action for Occupy Movement
Aired November 17, 2011 - 12:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I want to go to Alison Kosik. She reports from the New York Stock Exchange every day, does a fantastic job. Her job is a little bit more difficult just getting there.
So, Alison, what did you experience today? And talk a little bit about whether or not even trade was impacted at all.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, trade definitely was not impacted. The opening bell went off without a hitch. People who work here came in per usual, except for, of course, the extra few minutes it took to get through security.
You know, what's interesting about this building right now, it is really like a cocoon. As soon as there was word that the protesters were headed from Zuccotti Park, back here to Wall Street, you could see, you know, NYPD kind of get into position. I was watching from, actually, downstairs, out the window. You can see them kind of get into position again, getting ready for what could be coming their way.
This building is most certainly fortified. At just about every entrance of this place, you've got groups of officers, if not TV cameras and TV lights and trucks, as you see there. But you've got -- you know, you've got officers on horseback. You've got, you know, really a great show of force, just in case that group tries to get into this area.
These pictures, by the way, I took earlier this morning. This is from a different vantage point. You don't see all the people around, because in order to get into this area, you have to have a specific I.D. to get toward this building.
And that's really been the case for the past two months, since Occupy Wall Street has sort of been occupying this area. There have been barricades around this area, and security has been much tighter. But today, and last night, that security was most certainly stepped up quite a bit, with layers of barricades, and the check of the I.D. happening more than once, more than twice, just to make sure I really belong in this area -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Alison, thank you very much.
I want to go to Van Jones. He's president and cofounder of Rebuild the Dream. It is a group that is working to restore good jobs, economic opportunities for folks.
Van, thanks for joining us. You and I talked just yesterday about this. And you've put in a lot of work, a lot of time in making sure that liberal and progressive groups know about Occupy Wall Street, understand what the cause is, the message here, and lend their support, even their organizational support.
What is the purpose of today?
VAN JONES, PRESIDENT AND COFOUNDER, REBUILD THE DREAM: Well, you know, today is a huge -- you know, I think victory for democracy. There's a lot of talk about security. This is a peaceful protest.
We have 200-plus cities and growing. People demonstrating, saying, look, we want the economy to work for everybody.
This is not a protest against rich people. In fact, if it were a protest against rich people, we would call it "Occupy Silicon Valley." We don't mind winners, we just don't like cheaters.
We admire success, we just don't like greed. We want the people in America to have a chance to have jobs. We want to be able to see ordinary people be able to work hard and get somewhere, and not just for the few at the top.
It's the one percent that only care about the one percent that we have a problem with. And this is a huge, peaceful demonstration around the country, 200 cities and growing, saying, listen, let's have -- we're the 99 percent for the 100 percent. We want everybody in America to have a shot.
MALVEAUX: Do you think that message, Van, as much as people can understand and relate and even support that message, do you think it's getting lost when you look at the pictures, the standoff here, the threat of disturbances, of actually shutting down the bridge and, you know, making life difficult for folks who are part of the 99 percent?
JONES: Well, I think that the people's lives are being made difficult on a daily basis because the economy is not working. And unfortunately, you know, for the past couple of years, we have not been able to have a conversation in the country about the ordinary, you know, person who went to school, graduated with $100,000 in debt, and can't get a job, praying for an unpaid internship.
We have veterans who are coming home to nothing, to no job opportunities, 17 suicide attempts in our country every single day with our veterans. And sometimes it takes doing something to try to, you know, get attention to the problem so we can start looking for the solutions.
But the solutions aren't going to come from saying to people, don't express yourself, don't demonstrate. It's been overwhelmingly -- when you look at the number of the people who have participated, overwhelmingly peaceful, and still, we need to actually have the conversation go from talking about jobs, to actually figuring out a way to get the economy working for everybody. That is the -- and my concern is that, you know, we show these images that are the most arresting images, but if you're out there, most of this is very, very, very peaceful, and very, very celebratory of the fact that people are waking up to the fact that we need an economy that works for everybody.
MALVEAUX: And Van, it's quite impressive when you talk about 200 cities here where people are gathered. And you bring up a very legitimate point, that most of this is peaceful protests, certainly not widespread violence here.
Do you think that the movement needs more organization, or a figurehead, a spokesperson, or something that can channel this message in a way that people can understand?
JONES: Well, I mean, here's the reality. First of all, you know, I don't speak for Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Wall Street, you know, the people who are occupying, the people who are sleeping outside, the people who have been pepper-sprayed, the people who have really made the sacrifice, they speak for themselves. I support them, but the rest of us who make up the 99 percent -- you know, Gandhi spent 10 years preparing himself and preparing his movement to be able to be intelligible and understandable.
This movement is only 10 weeks old. And so, you know, give the young people who are out there struggling a chance to develop themselves.
I think that they have done a tremendous service to this country. They have been overwhelmingly peaceful. You always have a few people who get out of line. You can't even have a house party without somebody doing something. So you can't blame them for everything.
Let's celebrate the fact that young people in America care about the future, that struggling folks are speaking out, and give this movement a chance to mature. It will mature.
And as it matures, I think that we are going to be able to get from the anger to some answers, and to go from having a bunch of energy to having some power to make a difference. But today is a big celebration, two months since September 17th to November 17th, a huge change in the national conversation.
The media, unfortunately, I think, does show the sensational images, but if you look at what's actually going on, this is a peaceful movement, with legitimate grievances, and we have to do better in America. We can't have all these young people with no jobs and no hope in our country.
That's what's wrong. That's the insecurity we need to be dealing with, the economic insecurity of a generation.
MALVEAUX: Last question here, Van. Who are you addressing the message to? Who would you like to respond?
Would it be politicians? Would it be the business community? Is there someone in particular, a group in particular, that you believe should be responding to this movement right now?
JONES: I think there are three people who should be responding. If you go to rebuildthedream.com, you'll see there is a plan there, a program -- 131,000 people came together online to come up with that program.
It's a 10-point program to get jobs going. We would like for Congress and the White House and Washington, D.C., to take up the work, is hard on getting those 10 points passed as possible. But rebuildthedream.com has actual solutions that government could employ, but we also want our business leaders to take a second look, especially in our financial sector.
Are there things that they could be doing? Can our banking system look at the eyes of these young people who are suffering with these student loans and find a way to cut them a break?
Our homeowners are suffering. Mortgages are under water. People are still being evicted.
We bailed out the banks. Can those banks look at these homeowners and find a way to renegotiate some of those mortgages?
Our small businesses are not getting the loans that they need. Our farmers are not getting the help that they need. Our new clean energy companies aren't.
So, we want our banking system to really look now. This country stood with you, we helped you, we bailed you out. Now turn around and help us.
MALVEAUX: OK.
JONES: And then the last thing is, each individual also needs to look at their own community. Let's be a nation of neighbors and start helping each other again. If the government, our business leaders, and our individuals work together, we can get somewhere.
MALVEAUX: All right. Van Jones, thank you very much for your perspective. We really appreciate that.
I want to go back to Carol.
Because, Carol, a lot of people weighing in on this Occupy Wall Street movement and the impact that it has had. And Van Jones talks about that they do have a message here, and it is a message about income inequality. He just mentioned bailing out the banks, asking for everybody to do their part -- the banks, the businesses, the government.
What are folks saying?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Folks have a lot of comments on this.
And, you know, I heard Van Jones, and a lot of people in America heard him say that the message that this Occupy Wall Street protest is generating throughout the country is resonating. But Ill tell you, Suzanne, America's mayors are sick and tired of Occupy Wall Street, the tents, the trash, the spectacle, and the criminals who, at times, have infiltrated this movement.
So, like they say, goodbye city encampments. And some say good riddance.
As Lori Ziganto wrote on the conservative blog redstate.com -- and keep in mind, she's a Tea Party Republican -- she said, "Their legacy is that they showed the left for what it truly is, and it ain't pretty. The world was watching, they didn't like what they saw. Zuccotti Park and other protest sites across the country were cleared because the protesters were violent, dangerous cretins."
And, of course, as you can see here, they're not exactly violent, at least right now in New York City. They're pushing police. There's some pushing and shoving going on. And they're removing those barricades so that they can infiltrate Zuccotti Park, where the movement began two months ago.
I talked to the deputy mayor for the city of New York earlier this morning. He said that the police were going to be pretty strict about this kind of thing. If protesters crossed those barriers, they were going to be placed under arrest.
Protesters also plan to march across the Brooklyn Bridge later this afternoon, at around 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, just in time for rush hour, as you know, Suzanne. If they step onto the bridge, those protesters, any protester, will be arrested.
Now, the thing that I'm focusing on today is this kind of, like, pushing the message forward. Whatever that message may be that these Occupy Wall Street protesters want to send out to the nation, is all of this obscuring this message, or have they really changed the political conversation in this country? Have they changed the conversation?
I mean, are you thinking about income inequality now? Are you thinking about injustice, perhaps, on Wall Street? Or are you thinking simply about the enormous debt that this country has accumulated? Because that's what the political conversation has really been these past few months.
The thing is, Suzanne, have those messages resonated with the public? I mean, has the Occupy Wall Street movement changed the political conversation in America? Will it make any difference?
We want to know what you think. Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Please send us your comments.
I mean, is all of this for nothing? I mean, the Occupy movement has taken a turn, right? They can no longer occupy parks and streets throughout the country.
They have to take their movements to the street, they have to march. And we're seeing this on the two-month anniversary of the Occupy movement.
Will it die after this? We don't know. Has it changed the conversation? Has it had or will it have a lasting impact?
That's what I would like to know from you today. Facebook.com/CarolCNN.
MALVEAUX: All right, Carol. Thank you very much.
Just want to remind our viewers what you're watching there.
To the right there, that is Portland Oregon. That is an overpass where protesters are crossing over and beginning to gather there.
To the left is New York's Zuccotti Park. That is where hundreds and hundreds of protesters have gathered there with a plan, at least, to march across the Brooklyn Bridge later this afternoon.
We are keeping a close eye on all these protests across the country, as well as our iReporters, who have some amazing pictures and stories themselves. We're going to have more of that after a very quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: It is being called a "Day of Action." We are watching across the country as protests gather in major cities across the country.
We are looking -- on your screen there, to the right, is Portland, Oregon. That is where people are just beginning to gather over an overpass.
In Los Angeles, there in the center, that is where people are marching downtown, trying to disrupt business and commerce.
And to the left of your screen there, that is where we've seen most of the action today, just in the last hour or so, some scuffling with police, a little back-and-forth. There have been numerous arrests, but for the most part, peaceful protests, but hundreds and hundreds of people who have been gathering there.
Police trying to keep them in a very contained park area. And that has actually brought about quite a bit of tension, as you can imagine, in that space.
There are also plans to march across the Brooklyn Bridge, and some of the protesters are saying they want to shut down the bridge, shut down the subway system, and cause a lot of disturbances to get the message across. Others say that that is not the case, that they simply want to bring attention to the income inequality in this country.
I want us to listen in, if we can, on the ground to what is taking place in New York.
You can hear the crowd chanting there. It's really very unclear how that is all going to play out.
This was earlier in the day, when the tension was quite high, when you have a standoff with dozens and dozens of police officers there, and trying to keep them in a particular area. The crowd, picking up some of the metal barricades and removing them as they took to the streets.
It is unclear how this will unfold. Right now, it is peaceful and somewhat calm on the ground, but that has changed from moment to moment, as our own Mary Snow described earlier today, that it was quite a tense situation at one point as there were numerous arrests.
Want to also show you -- this is very, very dramatic pictures from an iReporter. This is earlier today. This is from Alvaro Perez.
He says he was on his way to work when he came across a group of Occupy protesters shouting at police when they arrested this female demonstrator. And just take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're pulling her hair! Help her! Help her!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame! Shame!
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!
Shame! Shame! Shame!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Perez says that he started shooting this when he saw the police officers dragging this woman by her hair and that she was arrested. He says he doesn't know why she was arrested or what happened before this scene, but the crowd was very upset, very angry at how she was being treated and handled by police.
She was at the Occupy Wall Street site. It's not clear whether or not she was a protester or not, but we did see video there of her being dragged by her hair. The crowd, very angry, yelling, "Shame! Shame! Shame!"
This is earlier from today, from an iReporter who saw this unfold right there at the protest site.
I want to go to the West Coast, to Los Angeles, where our producer Stan Wilson is on the phone.
And you are with the protesters there out in L.A. Can you give us a sense of the mood?
STAN WILSON, CNN PRODUCER: Hi, Suzanne.
Well, the Los Angeles Police Department is just a couple of minutes away from forcibly removing protesters along this major corridor of the financial district in downtown. And a few hundred people are blocking an intersection.
And they, it appears, are willing to be arrested. And they are part of this larger Occupy movement.
We haven't seen any arrests. And a lot of protesters are chanting (INAUDIBLE). It's a coalition of various people throughout Los Angeles representing groups, organizations.
And I think within the next few minutes, you'll see movement as they all will refuse to leave if the police department orders them to. So that's how it looks here.
But we haven't seen any violence. We haven't seen anyone confronting police officers or any others on site here.
MALVEAUX: And Stan, you said you think there'll be some movement. What are you talking about? Are the protesters going to try to break the barricade? Are they going to try to move into the financial district?
WILSON: Well, they're not -- they're basically blocking the intersection of Figueroa Street, which is where several large hotels are and Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and other financial institutions are headquartered. But they're not holding any -- I don't see them holding anything that would be considered dangerous. Their placards, some of the banners, read, "We are the 99 percent." And one of the organizations, goodjobsforla.org is one of the major organizers here.
MALVEAUX: And Stan, are the police -- do they have orders to remove people from blocking the street, this intersection? Are they going to be moving in?
WILSON: Well, they have a -- the LAPD came up with a tactical plan some time ago, according to the press information office. They are within two to three blocks of here, they're in their helmet gear.
They have batons, and everybody carries batons. They are essentially blocking the entrance to some of the hotels here and intersections just in case protesters tend to move toward the freeway on-ramps or any of the institutions here.
MALVEAUX: OK. Stan, we're going to get back to you very shortly.
We're watching the video. We're seeing people who are looking and observing to see what's going to take place at that intersection.
Also, we have a KTLA reporter who is talking to folks on the ground. Let's go to that.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What brought you here? Why did you show up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here because of the social injustice that's going on in this country. I'm here because of the fact of all the money that is in politics and all the corporations that are owning not only our politicians, but they're owning this country. And we have to get this country back to we, the people, is what our Constitution was founded on. And exactly what we have to do is make sure we bring the jobs back to America and make sure that there's justice back in this country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think there's anybody who's going to say they're not in favor of jobs. My question to you is this: does this type of a protest really achieve anything at all other than disrupting traffic and making it harder for people to get to their real jobs, those who still do have jobs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely, this does, because of the fact it shows the people that are sitting in these office buildings, that are getting paid squat, it's showing them that they can get involved also, because this is our country. This is not the corporations' country. This is our country.
I am a small business owner, and I am here as a small business owner because of the fact that I support the workers. And I would love to see more.
I don't need a tax break, I need customers. That's what I need. I need customers. I need demand. Not this --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about the businesses in this area, though, who also need customers, and maybe the customers can't get here because of this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a small portion of those people, because of the fact that most of these people got bailed out by us, we, the people. Mostly people --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're talking about the banks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The banks. The banks got bailed out, we got sold out. It's incredible.
All the number of houses that I've seen foreclosed, where people cannot even go and make repairs to their house right now because of the fact that they're waiting until something gets worked out with their mortgage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks.
MALVEAUX: Very frustrated, emotional man there, talking about the banks being bailed out and people being sold out.
What we are watching here is protests throughout the country, Occupy Wall Street, on the two-month anniversary, really a "Day of Action," as people try to bring forward their message.
We're going to have much, much more of this breaking news story across the country after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Banks got bailed out!
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: We got sold out!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Banks got bailed out! Bank of America! Bank of America!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Two months since the Occupy movement began, protests are erupting across the country.
We're going to start in New York, the birthplace of the uprising. These are live pictures from Zuccotti Park.
Protesters are rallying, police are swarming, crowds have taken aim at Wall Street, all it represents. The protesters, they've tried to keep the stock exchange from opening this morning. They were not successful with that.
They are still planning to try to take over the Brooklyn Bridge, even the doorstep of City Hall, Foley Square. The arrests have already begun. At least 75 demonstrators have been hauled away. The standoff now continues.
It's all a very fluid situation here. The tensions very high. We are there live. Also on the west coast. There are more protests, more potential for problems as well. There are live pictures from Los Angeles here. This is where demonstrators have been flooding the streets, trying to bring traffic to a halt downtown.
And then Portland, Oregon, this is where we've seen pictures. An occupy group calling themselves n-17, as in November the 17th movement, they're trying to disrupt the city's banking activities. They are blocking the streets there. Police have shut down that steel bridge in anticipation of crowds.
I want to go to New York. That is where Mary Snow is on the ground. She's in the middle of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests that have taken place there. Mary, things have changed moment by moment. How are things now? What is the mood like?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The mood is pretty peaceful here, Suzanne, here at Zuccotti Park. And you can see behind me, there are protesters, in the middle here, some are just sitting around. Others are beating drums.
But some of these protesters have left a short time ago and our producer, Julian Cummings is saying that he just witnessed some clashes between police and protesters and about three or four arrests that he witnessed, just a few blocks south of here.
Talking to one of the spokespeople for the "Occupy Wall Street" movement down here, saying that the intention is to show that their movement is not about this piece of real estate, this park where they were evicted just two days ago by the city of New York. Although they're allowed to protest, they cannot camp out overnight, bring any sleeping bags or tents.
And also pointing out that there are a number of protests, even talking about protests at subway stations, right, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Also, you know, some of these organizers are saying that there are other protests that are not, have not been talked about.
And that they were going for the element of surprise, and this has been carefully planned out, culminating later on today during rush hour, you know, you've heard the city say that they are allowed to protest on the bridge, but they can't block traffic.
And some of these protesters saying that's absolutely their intention, to shut down that bridge. They've had marches on that bridge before and they intend to have a show of force later today -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Mary, how does this play out here? If people start to move -- I mean, I assume, right, because of what the mayor had said earlier in the week. That they are allowed to stay as long as they like, as long as they don't set up tents and don't use sleeping bags, they can be there for the rest of the day and the rest of the week, right?
SNOW: Exactly. And this is a privately owned park. And so far, what has been determined is that people can stay here and protest, just not camp out.
And you know, Suzanne, one of the things about this "Occupy Wall Street" movement, having been down here several times over the last several weeks, there's really no one leader.
No one spokesperson for this group. So, you know, there are a lot of different plans going on, and things change very quickly as well.
MALVEAUX: We notice people are just walking around, observing, taking pictures here, very much like a tourist, if you will. This is a place that I actually went and visited myself and saw for myself. Outside of this park, how are people responding to what's taking place there?
SNOW: Earlier today, when there were protesters blocking various streets and intersections, there were people who were fairly angry, were trying to get to work, and couldn't make their way through the streets. It was an annoyance.
You know, obviously, the goal was to shut down the stock exchange. That obviously didn't happen. You know, but there's a mixture. We saw that element today of people got annoyed, not being able to get about their day.
There have been a lot of tourists down here, though, as you mentioned. Over the past several weeks, many people have come down here to Zuccotti Park to check it out, talk to people here, see what their protest is about.
And you know, this is a very -- it's the heart of the financial district. This is a very busy area. So you have people constantly streaming through here.
MALVEAUX: And Mary, aside from wanting to shut down the markets and that type of thing, you've been talking to protesters. What do they hope to accomplish today? Will they leave this site after they feel like they've brought attention to their cause?
SNOW: You know, it's unclear about what exactly happens after this. These protests had been planned because it is the two-month anniversary. Do they need a physical space to quote/unquote occupy? You know, that's uncertain.
And from the sense that I've gotten talking to some of them is they're not really clear whether they're going to have a central location that they occupy.
But again, they're stressing that their movement is bigger than any one space, but that they definitely continue to carry forward with protests.
MALVEAUX: All right, Mary. Thank you very much. We want to talk a little bit about the law enforcement aspect of all of this. HLN law enforcement specialist Mike Brooks, who's joining us here so, what do the police -- what are they prepared for? What do they do? How do they handle this situation?
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: There are not many cities in the United States that have handled more demonstrations -- I was in Washington, D.C. for over 26 years. But New York, they handle this all the time.
You have officers, some with soft hats and some with helmets. They're trying to maintain a low profile, as low a profile as possible, but still, we had four officers who were transported to the hospital by FDNY EMS earlier today, and you always have a faction, it seems, Suzanne, in some of these groups, that some of them are out there for violence.
We know for the most part, the "Occupy" protesters, they're out there performing, let's say, nonviolent civil disobedience, but you always have, it seems like an element that wants to cause violence, and you want to be prepared for both sides. And I think the NYPD is doing a good job of trying to contain the crowds, but still maintain order.
MALVEAUX: All right, Mike, we'll have more with you. We'll take a quick break and have some more questions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are not only owning politicians, but they are owning this country And we have to get this country back to we, the people, is what our constitution was founded on. And exactly what we have to do is make sure that we bring the jobs back to America and make sure that there's justice back in this country.
MALVEAUX: A lot of passion there. That from a protester in Los Angeles. I want to bring back in Mike Brooks, HLN law enforcement analyst.
Mike, you and I were talking about all of this. As we watch this unfold in New York and L.A., this is a lot for folks to deal with. You're talking about hundreds and hundreds of people, perhaps tens of thousands that will be marching on the Brooklyn Bridge. Are police officers ready for this? What are we anticipating here?
BROOKS: Well, law enforcement, they're there to maintain the public peace, if you will, Suzanne. And we've seen most of the movement by law enforcement around different cities in the United States happen at night time.
But here in New York, you have very, very tight quarters and small streets, down around Wall Street, as Mary Snow's been showing us, you have people there who are conducting legitimate business, who were tourists coming by to see what's going on, and then you have the people who are part of the "Occupy" protests.
And it's kind of hard to distinguish between them. I want to let people know, if you were going to go down to that area, don't go down there. It will just add to the confusion. But later today, around 5:00 or 5:30, they're supposed to go and try to block the Brooklyn Bridge.
We saw before when they did that, there were over 700 arrests. So NYPD has a dilemma, are you going to stop them at a certain point before they go on to the bridge? Because, you know, you have car traffic and pedestrian traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge.
But are they going to stop them before they go to try to block the bridge and completely disrupt the commuter traffic in New York City? That's a decision that NYPD officials have to make.
MALVEAUX: Talk about what we're seeing right here out of Los Angeles. We understand that the police have started to remove people. They are blocking -- they're at an intersection. They're arresting people.
We see them right now taking man away. Do they have to do anything there at that intersection or can they allow them to stay there for a while? How do they handle this situation?
BROOKS: What normally happens in most major cities, when you have demonstrators that come and sit down and block and impede traffic, what they will do is usually give them three warnings. They'll give them a warning, your first warning to get up and move.
They'll give them a second warning, usually they'll give them a third warning, and then they'll go ahead and start commencing arrests. Here, I think they were talking about the demonstrators possibly going towards the bank of America building, but they have sat down in the middle of Figueroa, a major street in downtown, Los Angeles.
We've got the Los Angeles Police Department, Metropolitan Division, which also includes their S.W.A.T. team. They specialize in crowd control and can handle this as we see some of their people now taking care of the demonstrators in the middle of the intersection.
MALVEAUX: And how are they doing? I mean, the job that they're doing here because it could be -- it could turn into violence, it could get ugly, but it looks like at least here in Los Angeles, it seems like it's --
BROOKS: You never know. I mean, I've been involved literally in hundreds of demonstrations, we would handle demonstrations every single day. But it looks to me, LAPD, they are prepared.
They were prepared for the demonstrators to conduct non- violent civil disobedience and sit down in the middle of the street. And have arrest teams there who will move in after warnings are given and you see the transport vehicles.
So I would give LAPD, so far from what I've seen, in their preparation and also in the way that they're handling things there in Los Angeles.
MALVEAUX: All right, Mike, thank you so much.
BROOKS: Thank you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: For putting it in perspective. I want to bring in Richard Herman out of Las Vegas to kind of give us the legal angle of this. Richard, what would these protesters be charged with?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They could be charged with resisting arrest, disorderly -- violating the orderly peace. There's a host of crimes they could be charged with here, Suzanne.
But basically what Mike said is right. You know, civil disobedience, if it's done peaceful is one thing, but if they violate the law.
If they start removing barriers and destroy public property, if they trespass, if they confront people trying to go to work, if they assault anybody, I mean, they could get, you know, the full criminal code thrown at them.
One of the observations in that I-Report we saw before was amazing and I think we should encourage as many I-Reports as we can get in on this today. But here's the situation.
If the protests are peaceful, it's one thing, but you have a large number of people, and as we sit in the studio and we watch this, it's much different than Mary Snow, who's actually in the middle of it. And she used the words getting tense at times.
You have protesters who are going to get tense. You have police officers. Some of them are in their early 20s, just out of the academy, called in to duty today for this.
They don't have much experience and the slightest thing could either tip off law enforcement, a young police officer, or one of these protesters, and that could escalate and erupt.
I'm not saying it is. I hope it does not happen, but the potential is there for that happening, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Richard, thank you very much. Richard Herman out of Vegas. We'll be following this breaking news story, protesters, demonstrations across the country, largely peaceful.
Some situations that have turned ugly, but for the most part, we are looking at hundreds and hundreds of people, perhaps tens of thousands, though, however, gathering this afternoon to block the Brooklyn Bridge. So we're going to keep a close eye on all of this. We're going to take a really quick break.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want positive publicity. We want people to -- we want people to know the truth. We just really want people to come out. We want the middle class, basically, to be back where the middle class was. We want big corporations and rich to be accountable, held accountable so that the poor can make it in life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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MALVEAUX: I want to take you to Los Angeles. This is where protesters are blocking an intersection in the financial district. These are Occupy Wall Street protesters who are making a statement, taking a stand against some of the bailed out banks and the businesses that are there.
And we are watching these protests throughout the country this morning and into the afternoon as they are widely peaceful protests, some violence that has erupted here, but a lot of frustration, folks who want to call attention to the income inequality. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING)
ERIC SPILLMAN, KTLA REPORTER: Excuse us, just a second. So we can show this is live TV. We can't -- we've got to see it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... our country. This is not the corporations' country. This is our country. I am a small business owner, and I am here as a small business owner because of the fact that I support the workers. And I would like to see more. I don't need a tax break. I need customers. That's what I need. I need customers. I need demand. Not this... SPILLMAN: What about the businesses in this area, though, who also need customers, and maybe the customers can't get here because of this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a small portion of those people, because of the fact that most of these people got bailed out by us, we, the people. Most of these people are...
SPILLMAN: You're talking about the banks?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The banks. The banks got bailed out, we got sold out. It's incredible. All the number of houses that are foreclosed where people cannot even go and make repairs to their house right now, because of the fact that they're waiting until something gets worked out with their mortgage.
SPILLMAN: Thanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A lot of passion there from that Occupy Wall Street protester. That's out of Los Angeles. You're looking at pictures as they are arrested at an intersection that they are blocking in the financial district. The scene in Los Angeles, quite calm and quite peaceful.
I want to go to the scene in New York and bring in Paul Brown of NYPD. He's the deputy commissioner.
And explain for us what is taking place in Zuccotti Park. How many people have been arrested today?
PAUL BROWNE, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, NYPD: Well, right now we have about 100 arrests all told beginning from earlier this morning. You had several hundred people march from Chase Plaza, which is across from Zuccotti Park, and they broke into different groups and marched in the financial district.
I would say most of those individuals, you know, when they did take -- were blocking streets, complied when they were told to, like, return to the sidewalk or to allow for other pedestrians to move.
But those who did not comply were arrested. And these would be maybe at a half a dozen different locations throughout the morning. And all told, that number now is about 100.
MALVEAUX: And what were they charged with?
BROWNE: Disorderly conduct and often resisting arrest.
MALVEAUX: What kind of preparations are you making for the potential of tens of thousands of people, as these demonstrators have promised, to go and march on the Brooklyn Bridge this afternoon?
BROWNE: Well, we haven't seen that many, but in any case, the Brooklyn Bridge actually has a pedestrian walkway that accommodates thousands of New Yorkers every day. And we're perfectly happy to accommodate a lawful protest using the pedestrian walkway that's there for pedestrians.
The arrests you alluded to earlier were made when they took the roadway and stopped traffic -- automotive traffic from flowing. So there is an ability to handle a lot of people crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot.
MALVEAUX: And, Commissioner, I have to ask you about this, I- Report sent in to us by Alvaro Perez (ph). He was on his way to work, he said, when he came across this woman, who, his video was showing, being dragged by her hair and backpack across the street. Do you know anything about this?
BROWNE: Well, I saw somebody -- it seemed to me that they were being dragged by her jacket and backpack, not by her hair. But I don't know. It looks like somebody who had been told -- who had breached the barrier that we had set up.
But I'm relying on the same video you were showing. So to me, it appears they were -- she had been pulled by her backpack and the back of her jacket, and may have been breaching that barrier there. But I...
MALVEAUX: I don't know if you had a chance to see the video here, but do you think that she was being treated well by the police? Do you think that was appropriate conduct? I mean, we're watching her being dragged across the street?
BROWNE: I don't know the previous action, if somebody was, you know, fighting with an officer or resisting or trying to breach the barrier there. I don't want to speculate on what happened in advance of that. But we did have some arrests where people breached barriers and fought against the police.
But I don't know the precipitating event. You're seeing the video from after.
MALVEAUX: Is there going to be an investigation into this? Because it's very dramatic. And a lot of people are...
BROWNE: Well, you said she's being dragged by her hair. She wasn't. You do see her being dragged by the backpack. So, I mean, that's a big difference.
MALVEAUX: Well, I'm just wondering if there's an investigation.
BROWNE: Well, it's an investigation -- we have people file complaints all the time in New York. We have an independent -- independent of the police department civilian complaint review board that investigates incidents of alleged police misconduct all the time.
MALVEAUX: And finally, the scene there on the ground now with police, what is your sense of how it's playing out?
BROWNE: Well, I think so far, actually, very good. You know, when you have these kinds of yelling and pushing and close-up cameras, it seems very disorderly. But when you step back and look at the events of the day, people actually went to work, were able to get to work on Wall Street. Protesters were allowed to protest. And in the big picture, it actually went, in our view, pretty smoothly.
MALVEAUX: All right. Paul Browne, NYPD deputy commissioner, thank you so much for your time and your perspective.
We're going to have more on these protests that are happening throughout the country after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We're following demonstrations, Occupy Wall Street, throughout the country and in New York. I want to bring in Alison Kosik. She covers New York Stock Exchange.
Alison, are the markets reacting to this? Give us a sense of how things look where you are?
KOSIK: The markets right now have taken a decisive turn to the downside. The Dow right now down 163 points and it has absolutely nothing to do what's going on outside this building. It actually has to do with what's happening in Europe. Still, those continuing worries about the European debt crisis, and more specifically, Spain just had an unsuccessful bond auction, where the yields were spiking. So you see those worries sort of being played out in the markets here -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Alison, the market, certainly the stock exchange, that was the target, Wall Street, of the protesters today. Was that disrupted in any way and what was it like to get down there?
KOSIK: Well, that was, of course, the plan, to try to disrupt the opening bell. That did not happen. The opening bell rang promptly at 9:30. As far as getting into the stock exchange, that's another story. But as long as you had an ID, you had a way of getting through the huge numbers of NYPD officers and the layer upon layer of barricades.
You know, NYPD, of course, stepping up their security around the perimeter of the stock exchange, to this minute, still, even though the protesters are fanned out across the area around the stock exchange, and a couple of blocks down through Zuccotti Park -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Alison, thank you very much.
I want to bring in our Carol Costello, who is talking about the Occupy Wall Street movement and the impact it has had on politics and the message -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the question we were asking folks today, has Occupy Wall Street changed the political conversation in America? This from James: "It definitely has changed the political talk between Americans, however, not with our elected officials. Wait until Election Day, then we'll see the change."
This from Dave: "It's easy to throw stones and blast the current system. Again, the current system isn't working. But to have a lasting effect and enact real change, you need to have a message a plan for moving forward."
This from Jylette: "The Occupy movement was a long time in coming. The tea party was the precursor, however, they chose the wrong targets. How can you be touting the Karl Rove-Koch brothers' talking points while sporting banners say 'hands off my Medicare'?"
And this from Nicole: "This has absolutely changed the political conversation in America, especially among younger people who have been silent for much too long. I'm proud that my generation is voicing their discontent and it's my highest hope that their actions will lead to a country that's no longer defined by greed and corruption."
Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your comments.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carol. Appreciate it. Obviously, we'll continue bringing this story, this coverage throughout the country. The Occupy Wall Street protesters' Day of Action.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with T.J. Holmes, who is in for Randi Kaye.
Hey, T.J..
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Suzanne. Thank you so much.
