Occupy the Midwest
The Occupy the Midwest Conference, held March 15-18 in St. Louis, brought together members of over 20 Occupations from across the region. Participants held demonstrations against corporate criminals Bank of America, Peabody Energy, Monsanto, and Wells Fargo, as well as attending workshops and networking sessions.
“Over the course of four days, Occupy the Midwest participants from over 20 Occupations around the region came together for four actions, held over 20 educational workshops, and made the connections we need to take our regional movement to the next level,” says Rachael Perrotta of Occupy Chicago. “We’re ready to move forward, to plan coordinated regional and national actions. Every Occupation represented at the conference says they’ll be coming to Chicago to help us speak out against the warmongering of NATO this May.”
Thursday evening, Occupiers set up camp in Compton Reservoir Park and were violently attacked by police after they had left park grounds.
“We condemn the vicious attacks on protesters Thursday night and will pursue every legal avenue available to us,” says Maggie Ellinger-Locke, an attorney with the St. Louis National Lawyers Guild.
In terms of future actions, Occupiers discussed attending and organizing a week of actions during the NATO summit meeting in Chicago on May 20-21, as well as another Occupy the Midwest convergence in August in Kansas City, MO.