More than 2,000 protesters converged on Capitol Hill on Tuesday in one of the largest Occupy demonstrations the District has seen, and by day’s end there were only a handful of arrests, including one protester charged with assaulting a Capitol Police officer. Occupy DC, joined by hundreds of protesters from around the country, visited House offices, shouted slogans on the Capitol lawn and marched through the nighttime streets to the White House and Supreme Court. They were protesting the corrupting influence of corporate cash on political campaigns just as members of Congress were returning from a holiday recess.
There were four arrests by late Tuesday, including an alleged assault on a Capitol Police officer, police said. Police identified the assailant only as William Griffin, but offered no other details. Three others were arrested for allegedly crossing a police line.
</div> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Occupiers taunted police, calling them “fascists,” after Capitol Police searched retired Philadelphia police Capt. Ray Lewis, who was arrested in uniform at Occupy Wall Street in November.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Protesters swarmed House office buildings seeking meetings with their congressional representatives. They went to the offices of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has started an investigation into why the Occupy DC protesters have been allowed to remain in McPherson Square even though they lack a permit and camping is banned.</span></p><div style=”float: right; width: 410px;”><object> <param name=”flashvars” value=”offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F71440963%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157628919490301%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F71440963%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157628919490301%2F&set_id=72157628919490301&jump_to=”/><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615″/><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”/><embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615″ allowfullscreen=”true” flashvars=”offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2F71440963%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157628919490301%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2F71440963%40N06%2Fsets%2F72157628919490301%2F&set_id=72157628919490301&jump_to=” width=”400″ height=”300″/></object></div> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Issa announced Tuesday that he would hold a hearing on the McPherson Square encampment next week. Issa previously demanded all documents and communications among the White House, the Interior Department and Park Police related to the Occupy protests, but said he never received the documents he requested.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>District Police Chief Cathy Lanier, Health Director Mohammed Akhter and National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis are set to testify at the hearing, according to Issa’s office.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Though most of their attention was focused on Congress, the Occupiers eventually marched on the U.S. Supreme Court and the White House, shouting slogans like “Money is not freedom of speech,” a reference to a court decision that allowed corporations and labor unions to raise and spend unlimited amounts of cash on political campaigns. The justices defended the political giving as a form of free speech.</span></p><table style=”float: right; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: aliceblue; padding: 5px 0pt; margin: 5px 15px 5px 0pt; width: 290px; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px; border: 1px solid #efe1ab; box-shadow: 5px 5px 5px #cccccc;” border=”0″ cellspacing=”0″ cellpadding=”0″><tbody><tr style=”font-size:14px;line-height:15px;color:darkred;”><td><strong>Examiner Archives</strong></td></tr><tr style=”font-size:12px;”><td><li><a href=”http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2012/01/gray-wants-occupy-out-mcpherson-square/2091241″>Gray wants Occupy out of McPherson Square (1/12/12)<br/></a></li></td></tr><tr style=”font-size:12px;”><td><li><a href=”http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2012/01/issa-renews-demand-occupy-documents/2082646″>Issa renews demand for Occupy documents (1/10/12)</a></li></td></tr><tr style=”font-size:12px;”><td><li><a href=”http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2012/01/gray-occupy-protesters-head-new-hampshire-talk-dc-voting-rights/2078656″>Gray, Occupy protesters head to New Hampshire to talk D.C. voting rights (1/9/12)</a></li></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Occupiers had a permit for the protest that allowed up to 10,000 participants, but far fewer actually showed up on a chill, wet winter day. Still, Occupiers said they were encouraged that so many out-of-town protesters, including many from now-shuttered Occupy camps in other cities, came to Washington to join with one of the country’s last remaining major Occupy camps.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>”It’s hard to visualize how many people are involved in Occupy, and knowing that this isn’t even everyone has an effect,” said McPherson Square protesters Sophie Vick. “It’s exciting and energizing for other Occupiers.”</span></p> <p><span style=”font-style:italic;” class=”EndEmailTag”><i><a href=” mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected]</a></i></span></p>
