9 Arrested as Occupy Philly Converges on Comcast Center

The protestors marched to the headquarters of Comcast from their base camp at City Hall

Dozens of protesters with the Occupy Philadelphia movement have converged on the downtown headquarters of cable giant Comcast. According to Philly.com, "Police have arrested seven men and two women. Some of the protesters reportedly got into the lobby of the tower at 17th Street and JFK Boulevard. About 20 others linked arms on the sidewalk outside, chanting slogans and singing a song about solidarity to the tune of La Marseillaise."

From the Occupy Philly Facebook page, "hundreds of Occupy Philly participants took part in a General Strike and a march of solidarity with Occupy Oakland today. A nonviolent sit-in took place inside the Comcast Center.  About ten protesters were arrested at appx. 2:40PM and will be transported to 8th and Race."

Police formed a barricade between the glass-walled lobby and the protesters, who are chanting and waving signs.

Protesters marched a few blocks to the skyscraper from City Hall on Wednesday afternoon, reportedly out of solidarity for the #OccupyOakland movement. According to the Facebook post, "Last week police attacked Occupy Oakland and veteran Scott Olsen had his skull fractured by a projectile and remains hospitalized. Occupy Oakland has called for a general strike Nov. 2nd and Occupy Philadelphia has endorsed the call.". They were banging on the lobby glass until police moved in.

Dustin M. Slaughter, a Philadelphia documentary filmmaker, is chronicling the arrests with pictures and information on his Twitter feed @DustinSlaughter and blog spot, The David and Goliath Project, which "celebrates protest culture in all of its forms," according to the project's mission statement.

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Copyright AP - Associated Press
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