OCCUPY DENVER HONORS VETERANS & TAKES ACTION AGAINST BIG BANKS

Denver, Colorado, November 2nd, 2011 - This Saturday, November 5th, Denver is hosting its 2011 Veterans Day Parade in Civic Center Park, where Occupy Denver has established its Occupation. Last night, Occupy Denver came to a unanimous consensus to vacate Civic Center Park following the 7 PM General Assembly meeting on Friday, November 4th, in a show of solidarity with our veterans, our service men and women, and our fallen heroes. Occupy Denver supports the valor and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces, and unilaterally wishes to show unwavering support and respect for the Veterans Day Parade.

Occupy Denver will reestablish its Occupation at Skyline Park on 16th Street Mall, directly across from the Denver Federal Reserve building, and has planned a series of actions for Saturday to coincide with the bank boycott known as Bank Transfer Day, in which customers are urged to close their accounts with predatory financial institutions like Wells Fargo, Citibank, and Chase, and redeposit their funds into their local credit unions. Occupy Denver member Mitch Shenassa explains, “The Occupation has deliberately chosen the space across from the Federal Reserve as its temporary site to bring attention to the economic dangers posed by this independent central bank and its short-sighted fractional reserve banking system that cause the devaluation of our currency and the ballooning of our national debt.”

Denver’s citizens will gather at the Federal Reserve building and march en masse to their respective banks to withdraw their financial support from the corporate entities responsible for the gradual erosion of the middle class through sub-prime mortages, usurious fees and interest rates, and a loyalty to corporate profits over the financial interests of their hard-working customers. Occupy Denver will coordinate and rally customers to an undisclosed number of Downtown Denver’s corporate bank branches in a randomized sequence throughout the morning and afternoon. Following the Bank Transfer Day effort, Occupy Denver will lead a peaceful march down 16th Street Mall in protest of predatory lending practices, unlawful foreclosures on the homes of American families, and unchecked criminality in our nation’s banking and financial systems. All who wish to join the march against the greed and injustice of private and public financial institutions are invited to rally at Noon on Saturday, November 5th, at the Denver Federal Reserve. Join your fellow Coloradoans in voicing your frustrations with the banks that have preyed on us over the past decade—together we will create a voice they cannot ignore.

At the conclusion of the Veterans Day Parade, Occupy Denver will lead a silent Solidarity Vigil returning to the space at Civic Center Park as a show of our gratitude and honor for our brothers’ and sisters’ service to our nation. We encourage all citizens to join us as we peacefully pay somber homage to these heroes, and their selfless sacrifices made for us all. The organizers of the Veterans Day Parade have requested that our vigil display no political slogans on signs or clothing, and focus all messages on support for our vets. Occupy Denver urges and requests that all attending respect these wishes, and conduct themselves with respectful decorum.