Protesters who have camped outside Los Angeles City Hall since Saturday, inspired by on-going Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York, will spend a second night sleeping on the pavement this evening.
Loosely organized by a group called Occupy Los Angeles, several hundred people marched and rallied Sunday, holding signs that blasted corporate influence on government. They used Internet sites to mobilize and get attention.
Photos: Sunday's protest and parade downtown
Tents and blankets dotted the lawn in front of City Hall on Sunday, as people came and went from the encampment. Some stood on the sidewalk holding signs. Sunday night passing cars periodically honked in a show of support.
"It's been a very peaceful demonstration," Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Mitzi Fierro said. "They're out there exercising their First Amendment right, so we're going to allow them to continue as long it doesn't become an unlawful assembly."
Following a procedure established Saturday night, the protesters were to be moved from the grass on the south lawn of City Hall to the sidewalk at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, and back from the pavement to the lawn at 6 a.m. Monday.
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Photos: Protest and parade in downtown L.A.
-- Esmeralda Bermudez
Photo: Shayne Eastin, 27, of Los Angeles protests in downtown near Los Angeles City Hall on Sunday. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times