Occupy Homes MN: 13 arrested as 200 march on Wells Fargo demanding fair banking practices (Update)

Last edited Thu Feb 28, 2013, 12:56 PM - Edit history (1)

Occupy Homes MN
‎13 arrests took place on the 26th St. bridge overlooking Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Center today demanding an end to unjust foreclosures and attacks on our communities as Brother Ali performed from the back of a pickup truck.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=336347759800511&set=a.164586366976652.24861.163375540431068&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf



OccupyHomesMN @OccupyHomesMN

Amazing march today! 13 arrested as 200 march on @WellsFargo demanding fair banking practices
http://www.occupyhomesmn.org/marchonwells?recruiter_id=67 …

Thirteen people were peacefully arrested Wednesday afternoon as they marched on Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, demanding turnover of vacant homes to community control and fair banking practices.

The march, organized by Occupy Homes MN, Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, and allies from faith and labor communities, began at the home of Gayle Lindsey, fighting her foreclosure with Occupy Homes and her neighbors in the Foreclosure and Eviction Free Zone. It proceeded to Jessica English’s reclaimed vacant home, which had been abandoned by Wells Fargo and turned into a drug house. Jessica, a single mom of four experiencing homelessness, has rehabilitated the house with Occupy Homes as a place to raise her children.

“As a homeless mom, it’s sickening to see all the vacant homes Wells Fargo owns that attract crime in Minneapolis,” Jessica told the crowd. “Wells Fargo abandoned this home, letting it turn into a drug house that brought blight on the community. Now the community has come together to welcome my family home and demand that Wells Fargo turn over vacant homes to community control for affordable housing. We are restoring what Wells Fargo destroyed.”

From there, the crowd of 200 took the streets and marched through the gates of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, where they were joined by a heavy police presence. They brought 20 bags of trash cleaned up from their neglected vacant home, demanding Wells Fargo clean up their own mess. They rallied in front of the building where Patrick Russell, an employee at the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Center, came down to join the crowd and to speak out against his employer. “I know people who’ve been stuck in prisons that Wells Fargo owns, seen communities wracked by poverty, homes foreclosed on, to stand vacant like weeping sores,” said Patrick. “It is embarrassing to see that Wells Fargo as an institution has been so unwilling to work to rebuild our communities, but if that’s the case, maybe it’s time for the individuals within Wells Fargo to step forward.”

(A bit more text, some great pictures at the link.)

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Occupy Homes MN
More coverage of yesterday's action. To be clear the 13 arrests were coalition members from Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, ISAIAH, SEIU 26, Take Action MN, Macalester Kick Wells Fargo off Campus, Occupy Homes and more! Thanks again to everyone who helped make it an amazing action.


13 Occupy Protesters Arrested In Minneapolis Protest

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/02/28/13-occupy-protesters-arrested-in-minneapolis-protest/

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities say 13 people were arrested Wednesday afternoon during an Occupy Minnesota protest in downtown Minneapolis.

Police say the group, which demanded the turnover of vacant homes to community control and fair banking practices, was peacefully taken into custody. The protesters marched from foreclosed homes down to the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage building.

A crowd of about 200 marched with 20 bags of trash collected from a vacant home. After rallying at the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage building, protesters continued to the 26th Street bridge over I-35W. After about 20 minutes, police told the crowd to disperse, and that’s when 13 protesters sat in the street linking arms.

They were arrested for an act of civil disobedience.

(That is the entire article, there are at this time no pictures or video excepting a stock photo of an MN police car.)