Update December 7: The planned gatherings and mock funeral went off calmly.
For coverage of the casket carried on King Street and other stand-ins, I'll point you to the coverage at The Post and Courier and video at ABC News 4.
Also worth a highlight is the Charleston City Paper's coverage that touches on yesterday's protest but also asks a wider question exploring whether or not Occupy Charleston is expanding or withering (take a read here).
First reporting: Following the arrest and expulsion of some protesters from Marion Square, Occupy Charleston has slated a series of events for today, December 6.
The protest is dubbed, "A Death in the Family : Funeral for the first amendment", and starts at 3 p.m. at Marion Square, then moving to Wells Fargo bank on Broad Street and over to Charleston City Council's 5 p.m. meeting.
Below are details on the events:
A Death in the Family. The Mayor's 11/23/11 arrests of Occupy Charleston demonstrators infringed on all of our First Amendment rights. The Mayor and the City have asserted we are NOT allowed to peaceably assemble in the park, and we are NOT allowed to deliver our political message through an occupation. Thus, the First Amendment has died in Charleston, and we gather to mourn that loss.
Starting at 3:00pm Occupy will be staging a mock funeral for our beleaguered freedoms that will then march down King Street. Please join us! In the spirit of the event, try to wear black, carry a black umbrella, etc.
March on Wells-Fargo : 4:00 – 4:30, Wells-Fargo Branch on Broad Street
Our Foreclosure Illness: (pulled from OccupyOurHomes.org) "In 2008, we discovered bankers and speculators gambled with our most valuable asset – our homes. They bet against us and destroyed trillions of dollars of our wealth. Now, because of the foreclosure crisis Wall Street banks created with their lies and greed, millions of Americans have lost their homes and one in four homeowners are currently underwater on their mortgage."
"Not only do we have thousands of people without homes, we have thousands of homes without people. The Occupy Wall Street movement and brave homeowners around the country are coming together to say, "enough is enough." We, the 99%, are standing up to Wall Street banks and demanding they negotiate with homeowners instead of fraudulently foreclosing on them."
Call for City Accountability: City Hall on Broad Street, roll call begins at 5pm.
We refuse to wait for change. We are participating in our democracy the best way we know how. Being a good citizen means being involved in the process and being an effective watchdog on laws that affect you and your neighbors. Come to City Hall to watch how you and your community are affected, and express your opinion to our local leaders. Occupy city hall!
