Occupy Wall Street Hits Sonoma

Sonomans hit the streets of Friday, for "Occupy Sonoma," a branch of the national "Occupy Wall Street" protest movement, gathering residents and elected officials to protest the financial bailout and globalized banking.

Occupy Wall Street started a month ago in New York City's financial district as an isolated sit-in asking banks to repay their bailout funds, after creating the national mortgage crisis through over leveraged loans.

It is the same mortgage crisis that helped send America into a financial debacle and that, even after being bailed out through tax payers dollars, refuse to support legislation requiring they pay their fair share of taxes because, they argue, they are the “job creators.”

But the movement has spread across the country – broadening into criticisms of corperete greed and wealth inequality – with branches popping up in major cities, university campuses in

The Sonoma protest focused on emphasizing local banking and business: protesters carried signs reading "Bank Local," "Tax Wall Street" and "Time Bankers Pay for Their Crimes."

Check out a video by regular Patch contributor Richard McDavid; additional photos of the event are available on Flickr.