Climate protesters pledge to risk arrest during Wall Street sit-in

[September 22, 2014]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters plan to risk arrest on Monday during an unsanctioned blockade in New York City's financial district to call attention to what organizers say is Wall Street's contribution to climate change.

The Flood Wall Street demonstration comes on the heels of Sunday's international day of action that brought some 310,000 people to the streets of New York City in the largest single protest ever held on over climate change.

There were no arrests or incidents in Sunday's massive march, police said.

Flood Wall Street organizers said they wanted to use the momentum gained by Sunday's march to "highlight the role of capitalism in fueling the climate crisis."

As many as 2,000 participants will meet in lower Manhattan's Battery Park before a planned noon march to Wall Street and the steps of the New York Stock Exchange for a sit-in and blockade without a police permit, event organizers said.

Some 200 people have said they will risk arrest by the New York City Police Department during the civil disobedience action, said spokeswoman Leah Hunt-Hendrix.

"This civil resistance, civil disobedience, shows a commitment to the cause," said Hunt-Hendrix. "We are trying to escalate this as an urgent issue and show how Wall Street is profiting from the crisis."

The event's organizers have roots in the Occupy Wall Street movement that started in a downtown Manhattan park in 2011 to protest what it called unfair banking practices that serve the wealthiest one percent, leaving behind 99 percent of the world's population.

Flood Wall Street said they hope Monday's action will draw a link between economic policies and the environment, accusing top financial institutions of "exploiting frontline communities, workers and natural resources" for financial gain.

The event is part of Climate Week, which seeks to draw attention to carbon emissions and their link to global warming, and comes ahead of a Sept. 23 United Nations Climate Summit.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Writing by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Fiona Ortiz and Sandra Maler)

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