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Springfield, MA – A protest march and rally in downtown Springfield Massachusetts Monday culminated when 15 people were arrested at a Bank of America office. WAMC's Paul Tuthill reports...
Springfield Police Commissioner William Fitchet said the protesters were handcuffed and led away after one group sat down inside the bank, another in an ATM, and four protesters blocked the banks doors. All refused to leave.
As the arrests were made inside, a group of about 250 demonstrators chanted outside.
"As you can see, we are allowing people to exercise their First Amendment Rights - I think that's important," said Fitchet. "The people that were arrested, they trespassed, and they disrupted the business here, and that's the reason that they were arrested."
Commissioner Fitchet said the protesters did not resist arrest. The rally and march to protest bank foreclosures drew activists from throughout the region.
Paul Tuthill, WAMC News.
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