Among the hordes of Occupy Wall Street protesters, Frances Goldin stands out: the 87-year-old literary agent and activist has a tuft of purple hair and carries a sign that reads, "I'm 87 and mad as hell."
She may not look like the typical Zuccotti Park demonstrator, but Goldin, who has demonstrated for the rights of the disenfranchised for decades, believes in the mission to close the income equality gap and to promote social justice.
"I've been arrested nine times for civil disobedience; I want to be arrested 12 times," Goldin said Thursday. "And I was sure I'd be arrested today, but the cops were determined because of the bad publicity for them, to not arrest an 87-year-old woman."
"I said [to an officer], 'What if I socked you in the eye?,' and he said, 'I'd give you a free shot,'" Goldin said. "'Well, what if I kneed you in the groin?,' and he said, 'No, you're not going to get arrested!'"
But more than 300 people did get arrested in the protests in New York City and other U.S. cities on Thursday.
Organizers had expected tens of thousands to turn out in New York after their camp in Zuccotti Park was cleared out by police overnight Monday, but the protests Thursday drew substantially fewer than that.
Eventually, the protesters marched onto the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday night, many carrying handheld LED lights. The crowd included many labor unions marching in solidarity. Among the 64 people arrested at the bridge for blocking traffic was Brooklyn City Councilman Jumaane Williams.
Goldin said the first time she was arrested was decades ago at Cooper Square. She and others were protesting Robert Moses' urban renewal plan. When they were able to stop the plan, she became inspired to remain an activist throughout her life. From protesting Vietnam to pursuing Mumia Abu Jamal's release, Goldin has seen it all. But there was something about the Occupy Wall Street movement that touched her.
"Their spirit, their dedication, their love," she said. "It's like food, it gives you energy."
Protesters in New York found some outside support amid the arrests on Thursday. Passerby Gene Williams, a 57-year-old bond trader, joked that he was "one of the bad guys'' but that he empathized with the demonstrators.
"They have a point in a lot of ways,'' he said. "The fact of the matter is, there is a schism between the rich and the poor and it's getting wider.''
Here's what happened in other cities:
- Los Angeles: About 500 sympathizers marched downtown between the Bank of America tower and Wells Fargo Plaza, chanting, "Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!" More than two dozen people were arrested.
- Las Vegas: Police arrested 21 demonstrators.
- Portland, Ore.: Twenty protesters were led away in plastic handcuffs in Portland, Ore., for sitting down on a bridge.
- St. Louis: At least a dozen were arrested after they sat down cross-legged and locked arms in an attempt to block a bridge over the Mississippi River.
- Chicago: Hundreds of protesters organized by labor and community groups marched toward the Chicago River. They stopped at the river bridge and shut it down to rush-hour traffic.
- Seattle: Hundreds of Occupy Seattle and labor demonstrators shut down the University Bridge as part of a national day of action demanding jobs. Traffic was snarled around Seattle's University District as two rallies marched toward the bridge.
In London, protesters facing a legal battle over the right to stay camped outside St. Paul's Cathedral took over a building owned by the UBS Bank in east London on Friday.
Occupy London, whose protest against capitalist excess was inspired by New York's movement, said on its website that it took over the abandoned office block in the neighborhood of Hackney overnight in a "public repossession."
It is the first time the group has successfully occupied a building. Its failed effort to take over the London Stock Exchange led the protesters to set up camp outside the famed cathedral — sparking an ongoing dispute over whether they have a right to be there.
UBS, which confirmed it owns the empty building, said it is aware of the situation and is taking appropriate legal action.
It is not clear how long the protesters will be able to remain outside St. Paul's. The City of London Corporation has said it will go to court seeking an eviction notice after a deadline passed Wednesday for tents to be removed from the churchyard.
The first hearing will likely be next week, but the eviction process could take months.
The protesters — who have been camped at St. Paul's since Oct. 15 — have said they will not budge.
On Friday, Occupy London said the building it occupied in east London will not be used for "residential" purposes but as an event and meeting space called the "Bank of Ideas."
"Visitors are asked not to bring their sleeping bags," the group said on its website.