'Somebody Lives There!': 'Occupy' Protesters Booted From LA Foreclosure Auction
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — An auction of foreclosed homes in downtown Los Angeles was briefly interrupted Friday by a group of protesters affiliated with a nationwide anti-Wall Street campaign.
KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports the disruption from the "Occupy LA" protesters didn't last very long.
Podcast
Nearly a dozen demonstrators made their way into the Auction.com sale being held in a ballroom at the downtown Sheraton and began yelling "Shame on you!" and "Somebody lives there!".
Hotel security and LAPD bike officers quickly moved in and escorted the protesters about 90 seconds after the disruption began.
"Obviously they have a First Amendment right to free speech but that does not extend inside a private location, which is what this is," said Central Division Capt. Horace Frank.
"We basically warned them of what the consequences were, what the rules were, and they subsequently ended up leaving."
No arrests were made.
Despite the setback, about 35 members of the Occupy group continued its demonstration outside the hotel at the 7th and Hope Street, where activist Carlos Marroquin openly questioned what he called an illegal foreclosure process by the banks.
"Some of 'em are people that are going through a modification period and banks are selling their homes right behind their backs," said Marroquin.
