"This is B.S.," mumbled someone in the courtroom, packed with Occupy members in matching red T-shirts.
"We're very disappointed, and we intend to appeal," said Paul Hetznecker, a Center City civil-rights attorney who represented some of the defendants Wednesday and others at the previous Occupy trials.
On Nov. 18, the Occupiers staged a "citizens' foreclosure" at the Wells Fargo at 17th and Market streets. They protested to bring attention to what they called the bank's "racist predatory lending" resulting in a disproportionate number of foreclosures in black neighborhoods, and its unfair deals with the city's school district and other agencies that have cost taxpayers millions in fees.
"What I was doing at Wells Fargo that night was trying to give a voice to the voiceless," testified Anthony Abata, 26, a housing counselor for a nonprofit.
Three times this year, Occupy protesters have been acquitted: seven on Monday who were arrested for a sit-in at Comcast Center on Nov. 2; 30 in April who were arrested after being evicted from Dilworth Plaza on Nov. 30; and 10 in February who were arrested in October for blocking traffic in front of police headquarters, at 8th and Race streets.
Contact Mensah M. Dean at 215-568-8278 or deanm@phillynews.com
