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Oakland Occupy Protesters Declare Victory At Port

By: NPR Staff and Wires // November 2, 2011
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Occupy Wall Street protesters have shut down operations for the day at one of the nation's busiest shipping ports.

Port of Oakland officials said in a statement late Wednesday that the peaceful rally attended by thousands of demonstrators forced them to cancel typical evening maritime activity. Officials at the nation's fifth-largest shipping port say they hope the work day can resume Thursday.

"Continued missed shifts represent economic hardship for maritime workers, truckers, and their families, as well as lost jobs and lost tax revenue for our region," the statement read.

It was mostly a day of peaceful protest, and police say there were no arrests at the scene. Several thousand demonstrators marched through the downtown area in hopes of precipitating a general strike. Many small shops near City Hall were shuttered, but it was business as usual throughout most of the city.

There were five reports of isolated vandalism at four banks and a Whole Foods grocery store. Police blamed a splinter group of anarchists for the violence.

In the evening, about 3,000 protestors marched on the Port of Oakland, preventing trucks from entering or leaving. Around the same time, Port officials declared the facility closed.

Protesters left the port declaring victory with the nearly five-hour rally that highlighted a daylong "general strike" in Oakland that prompted solidarity demonstrations across the nation.

NPR's Richard Gonzales contributed to this report, which contains material from The Associated Press

Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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