TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - The criminal complaint from the Cleveland bomb plot made references to the Occupy Movement, which is holding rallies across the country Tuesday.
These "May Day" rallies have been largely peaceful, including the rally in Toledo.
Occupy activists downtown said the movement is decentralized for a reason: so anybody anywhere enthusiastic about seeing change can participate.
On Tuesday, Occupy protesters gathering at the courthouse were rallying for the retirement of Judge Julia Bates. Protesters said Danny Brown, of Toledo, spent 19 years in prison for a rape and murder back in 1984. DNA evidence proved years later that he did not commit the crime. Brown was released from prison in 2001, but has never been exonerated, giving Occupy activists reason to stand behind him.
The rally remained nonviolent. However, Occupy protesters assured when radical supporters turn to violence, they do not support it.
"There's nothing wrong with being radical. However, you can be radical and nonviolent, which is what Occupy is committed to. Is it disappointing when people take on violent actions in the name of Occupy? Absolutely. But part of what we're doing here is a part of a bigger picture," said Occupy activist Sean Nestor.
Organizers of Tuesday's rally said the Occupy Movement is about wanting radical change and using unconventional methods to obtain it. It is not about harming others.
