November 17th was an international day of action. We expanded as a movement, continued building coalitions, and acted to disrupt illegal white collar activity by marching and raising awareness. For us at Occupy LA, N17 began at 7:00 a.m. as a march with SEIU and Good Jobs L.A. in solidarity with the 99% who are struggling to meet their basic needs in an era of trillion dollar bailouts. The morning action was officially endorsed by the Los Angeles General Assembly, which was attended by union members and activists.

Afterwards, emissaries went to help support and organize Occupy UCLA, which was broken up at 5:14 this morning with 14 arrests (they are planning to re­occupy). Yet another occupation began this day at 2:00 p.m.: Occupy the Plaza, an attempt to establish a permanent occupation at Bank of America Plaza in L.A.'s financial district.

A total of 72 Occupy LA participants were arrested yesterday for non­violent action.  25 were arrested at a morning action in soldiarity with goodjobs LA and the SEIU for shutting down an intersection. 47 were arrested as part of Occupy the Plaza, where the L.A.P.D. leveraged batons, aimed beanbag guns, and overturned tents. Several officers were reportedly unhappy to be deployed there. Two officers revealed that they were not being paid for their time defending the property rights of Wall Street firm Brookfield Properties against the peaceful occupation.

Occupy the Plaza was not an official Occupy Los Angeles action, as it was never brought to the Los Angeles General Assembly. It was conducted and organized by an affinity group, who met privately and promoted the action discreetly for tactical reasons. The timeline for reoccupying Bank of America plaza has not been released.  Although Occupy the Plaza is a seperate occupation, we are still in solidarity and Occupy Los Angeles resources were utilized for the release of these occupiers.

We want to offer gratitude to our benefactors and donors who provided bail money and legal assistance and to local businesses who helped shield occupiers from arrest. We are looking forward to future direct actions and expansions throughout Los Angeles.

--O.L.A. Media and Public Relations