More than 50 protesters set up their own living room in the foyer of the Wells Fargo building in downtown Denver this afternoon to protest the bank’s handling of home foreclosures.
The protesters included members of the Colorado Progressive Coalition and Occupy Denver. The group marched from the Denver Performing Arts Center to the Wells Fargo building at 1740 Broadway shortly after 2 p.m.
Police stopped them before they could enter the lobby so the group settled into the foyer.
They put down a table, chair, couch and a lounge chair and began marching around the furniture with brooms, mops and a sweeper.
The idea was to set up a residence in a bank that has foreclosed on many homeowners, said Vicki Dillard, of the Colorado Progressive Coalition.
“The banks had blamed us for being foreclosed upon,” said Dillard. “We wanted to refocus the issue and put it squarely in the bank’s front yard.”
One person was arrested trying to get into the lobby. A SWAT team stood outside the bank but there were no other incidents.
Protesters left the bank about 3 p.m.
“It was a good thing,” said Dillard. “I think we got the bank’s attention.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
