2011 Oakland General Strike

2011 Oakland General Strike
Downtown Oakland Frank Ogawa Plaza
Nov. 2, 2011

Thousands of protesters gathered at the Frank Ogawa Plaza on November 2 to participate in rallies, marches, and teach-ins designed to draw attention to economic inequity and corporate greed as part of the 2011 Oakland General Strike. The Port of Oakland, the fifth busiest port in the United States, was shut down after several thousand protesters blocked entrances to the port

Official estimates put the number of people attending the general strike at 7,000, while organizers say there were between 20,000 and 30,000.[53] Most of the protesters were peaceful, but some protesters smashed windows at Whole Foods and Wells Fargo, looted an art store, and plastered downtown businesses with graffiti.

The police presence was minimal during the strike, and most protesters had gone home by 11 p.m. when dozens of protesters took over a building that once housed the nonprofit Travelers Aid Society, and started a massive trash fire at 16th and Broadway that sent flames 15 feet high. Just after midnight, police declared the protest an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse. After one officer was struck on his face shield by a bottle, officers used flash-bang grenades and tear-gas canisters to attempt to disperse the crowd. A series of clashes between protesters and police continued throughout the night with 103 people arrested in total.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia