99% Prepare to Occupy Bank of America's Corporate Headquarters

The 99% are preparing to occupy Charlotte, North Carolina, home of Bank of America's corporate headquarters, ahead of the bank's annual shareholder meeting Wednesday. Members of the 99% Power Coalition, which is organizing the events, said they expect nearly 1,000 individuals to arrive in Charlotte to protest Bank of America's foreclosure practices and its investment in coal mining, several members of the group said on a call with reporters Tuesday.

The organization has held similar protests outside the shareholder meetings of Wells Fargo and General Electric that have drawn hundreds of people. The organizers said they expect Bank of America's meeting to draw the largest crowds of all. "We see Bank of America as the worst of the worst," said Amanda Starbuck, a director at the environmental advocacy group, Rainforest Action Network, which is organizing the protests. "There's a lot of momentum around Bank of America."

In response, the city of Charlotte is beefing up police presence in a two-block radius surrounding the bank's headquarters, where the meeting will be held. Earlier in the year, the city deemed it an "extraordinary event," which allows the Charlotte police force to reallocate officers as it sees fit, according to a spokesperson for the mayor's office. More...