The rise of the silver protester: Now senior citizens and veterans take to the streets in Occupy Wall Street demonstrations



28 arrested after another night of violence on the streets of New York

Washington protesters build on momentum of New York



Video of cop boasting he looks forward to using nightstick sparks furious reaction among protesters

Protesters 'storm the barricades' at Stock Exchange, prompting police to use pepper spray



Herman Cain: ' If you are not rich it's your own fault'

Obama addresses protesters in economic speech

Protests held across the country from Jersey to Washington and Dallas




It started as a student protest, led by the disgruntled and disenfranchised youth.

But as the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have gained momentum, it has quickly become clear that fury against bankers is not a feeling restricted to just one demographic.

Among the protesters marching as part of the angry and struggling '99 per cent' were many older faces - one so elderly he required a zimmer frame to walk.

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Energy: Jaime Vazquez, left, a Vietnam war veteran, chants during a protest outside the Goldman Sachs building in New Jersey, while Charles Helms displays a sign



Energy: Protestor Julia Botello, 85, shouts as she leaves a Bank of America branch in downtown Los Angeles

Others held up banners and yelled with voices just as strong as their young counterparts.



Protesters calling themselves 'the 99 per cent' continued to gather momentum in several cities across the country yesterday, with groups descending on on Washington D.C., Jersey and Texas.

The marchers - campaigning against America's richest 'one per cent' with perceived tax breaks and other perks - have swelled their ranks since mid-September, leading President Barack Obama to call the demonstrators a 'movement'.



Never too old: One man, a war veteran, joins the protests in New York with the aid of a zimmer frame

The protests became even more furious after an NYPD officer was caught bragging about using his nightstick on the group just hours before violence broke out between demonstrators and police on Wednesday night.

In the video, which appears to have been shot just hours before the clashes, the officer can be heard saying 'my little night stick's going to get a work out tonight' as he saunters past a police barricade.

The protests have slowly grown in size and attention over more than two weeks, with the president's acknowledgement at a news conference a sign they might be jelling into a political movement.

Stand: About one thousand people gather and form a large "99%" in the middle of Freedom Plaza. The chant refers to the richest 1 per cent of Americans which the political right are trying to protect

Spread: Participants march with signs past the White House to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during an "Occupation of Washington" protest in Washington

March: Protesters march in front of the Federal Reserve Building in Dallas today JOE BIDEN: PROTESTERS ARE LIKE THE TEA PARTY

For the left-wing students and unionists marching to ‘occupy Wall Street’, it may not be a comparison they much appreciate. In an unusual observation, Vice President Joe Biden has likened protesters camping out in the financial district to the Tea Party movement – saying they share anger over federal programmes which favour the richest in America.

‘There's a lot in common with the tea party,’ he said. ’The tea party started why? TARP [The Troubled Asset Relief Program, which bailed out the banks in 2008]. They thought it was unfair - we were bailing out the big guy.’

He added: ‘What is the core of that protest, and why is it increasing in terms of the people it's attracting? The core is the bargain has been breached with the American people.

‘The American people do not think the system is fair or on the level.’ Local protests against corporate America are planned in New Jersey on Thursday as a show of solidarity with demonstrations that started last month outside the New York Stock Exchange. Rallies met at the Statehouse in Trenton and in Jersey City. Protesters are expected to call for an end of corporate control of government. The movement has surged in less than three weeks from a ragged group in downtown Manhattan to protesters of all ages demonstrating from Seattle to Tampa. 'I am a mother. I want a better world for my children,' said Lisa Clapier, 46, a producer who lives in Venice, California, who joined protesters in Los Angeles. In Seattle, where protesters had set up an encampment in a city park, about two dozen people were arrested for defying police orders to dismantle their tents. 'The cops are doing their job, and we're going to let them do their job. Then we'll come back and occupy the park again,' said Michael Trimarco, 39, an unemployed carpenter. On Wednesday night, unions lent their muscle to the long-running protest against Wall Street and economic inequality, fuelling speculation about how long the camp-out in lower Manhattan - and related demonstrations around the country - will continue. As around 5,000 protesters marched toward the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, demonstrators tried to storm the barricades but were stopped by police about two blocks away. There were multiple reports of police using pepper spray to try to ward off the marchers.

A video posted on Youtube shows officers swinging their nightsticks at protesters and has sparked a furious reaction among demonstrators.

Police said about 28 arrests were made, mostly for disorderly conduct.

One person was arrested for assaulting an officer; police said the officer was pushed off his scooter. Famous: Tim Robbins speaks to Occupy Wall Street protesters at the start of a rally held at Foley Square, Manhattan Spray: A Protester gets pepper sprayed at Occupy Wall Street March

Barricades: Protesters attempt to break through police lines at Wall Street and Broadway

Violence: A video posted on Youtube shows officers swinging their nightsticks at protesters has also sparked furious reaction on blogs and across the internet

Swinging: Police can be seen laying into protesters around Wall Street

Thousands of protesters, including many in union T-shirts, filled lower Manhattan's Foley Square on yesterday and then marched to Zuccotti Park, where the protesters have been camping since September 17.

Earlier Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain told protesters in a Wall Street Journal interview: 'Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself.'



But labor leaders say they will continue to support the protests, both with manpower and donations of goods and services.

'The great thing about Occupy Wall Street is that they have brought the focus of the entire country on the middle class majority,' said George Aldro, 62, a member of Local 2325 of the United Auto Workers, as he carried the union's blue flag over his shoulder through lower Manhattan.

Line: Police officers try to restore barricades after Occupy Wall Street protesters tried to get past them and march to Wall Street

Cuffed: The protests have gathered momentum and gained participants in recent days as news of mass arrests and a coordinated media campaign seeded protests around the country

'We're in it together, and we're in it for the long haul.'

The protesters have varied causes but have spoken largely about unemployment and economic inequality, reserving most of their criticism for Wall Street. 'We are the 99 percent,' they chanted, contrasting themselves with the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

Ed Figueroa, a janitor in a public school in the Bronx and a shop steward with Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, said the march was 'the first time in these weeks that unions have shown their face.'

'But it won't be the last time,' he said. 'We'll be back.'

Force: People watch from the steps of Federal Court (L) as members of trade unions join "Occupy Wall Street" protesters

The unions were donating food, blankets and office space to the protesters, said Dan Cantor, head of the Working Families Party. But he said the young protesters would continue to head their own efforts. The movement lacks an identified leader and decisions are made during group meetings.

'They're giving more to us than we're giving to them. They're a shot in the arm to everybody,' Cantor said.

'The labor movement is following the youth of America today and that's a good thing.'

Victor Rivera, a vice-president for the powerful 1199 Service Employees International Union, which represents health care workers, said the union had donated 'all the food they need for this entire week' to the Zuccotti Park campers. Union leaders had also assigned liaisons from their political action committee to work with demonstrators.

'We are here to support this movement against Wall Street's greed,' he said. 'We support the idea that the rich should pay their fair share.'

Fall guy: Protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement rally with a photo of JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in Foley Square

Point: Occupy Wall Street protesters posing as billionaires stage a protest near Wall Street

Agitation: A police officer grabs the arm of a woman at the Occupy Wall Street protest

The Occupy Wall Street protests started Sept. 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp nearby in Zuccotti Park and have become increasingly organized, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper.

On Saturday, about 700 people were arrested and given disorderly conduct summonses for spilling into the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge despite warnings from police. A group of those arrested filed a lawsuit Tuesday, saying officers lured them into a trap before arresting them.

Several Democratic lawmakers have expressed support for the protesters, but some Republican presidential candidates have rebuked them. Herman Cain called the activists 'un-American' Wednesday at a book signing in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Mass: Yesterday at new York's Zuccotti Park and Foley Square, Occupy Wall Street protesters were joined by local students and unions

'They're basically saying that somehow the government is supposed to take from those that have succeeded and give to those who want to protest,' the former pizza-company executive said. 'That's not the way America was built.'

On Tuesday, CBS reported that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called the protest "class warfare" at an appearance at a Florida retirement community.

Activists have been showing solidarity with the movement in many cities: Occupy Providence. Occupy Los Angeles. Occupy Boise. More protests and sit-ins are planned across the country in the days ahead.

Ride: A participant in the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstration displays a "pink unicorn" ride during a march to join teacher's unions near Wall Street yesterday

Camp: The demonstrators are protesting bank bailouts, foreclosures and high unemployment from their encampment in the financial district

Multitude: Thousands of protesters including union members and college students from an organized walkout joined the rally

On Wednesday, more than 100 people withstood an afternoon downpour in Idaho's capital to protest, including Judy Taylor, a retired property manager.

'I want change. I'm tired of things being taken away from those that need help,' she said.

In Seattle, demonstrators tussled with police officers and clung to tents as they defied orders to leave a park. Police said they made 25 arrests. The reception was warmer in Los Angeles, where the City Council approved a resolution of support and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office distributed 100 rain ponchos to activists at another days-long demonstration, according to City News Service.

In Boston, hundreds of nurses and Northeastern University students rallied together to condemn what they called corporate control of government and the spiralling costs of education. The students banged on drums made of water jugs and chanted, 'Banks got bailed out, and we got sold out.'

'This is an organic process. This is a process of grassroots people coming together. It's a beautiful thing,' said David Schildmeier, spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

Many of those protesting are college students. Hundreds walked out of classes in New York, some in a show of solidarity for the Wall Street movement but many more concerned with worries closer to home. Protests were scheduled at State University of New York campuses including Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, New Paltz and Purchase.

Danielle Kingsbury, a 21-year-old senior from New Paltz, said she walked out of an American literature class to show support for some of her professors who she said have had their workloads increased because of budget cuts.