Pittsburgh ‘Occupied'

Hundreds of people marched from the Civic Arena to Market Square Saturday, chanting maxims like “We declare a class war!” and “Bankers are terrorists!” with both a steady drumbeat and a strong police presence in accompaniment.

The ‘Occupy’ movement has come to Pittsburgh, and activists say they’ll be staying a while, camping out on the Mellon Green near BNY Mellon Headquarters.

Many said they feel the disparity in pay between corporate CEOs and the working class is unfair.

“I’m just tired of the system being rigged against the working man,” said James Crytzer, a system administrator at the University of Pittsburgh. “I work for a living, I pay my fair share, and I want to know why the hell the top 1% aren’t paying theirs.”

Protesters called for greater taxation of the nation’s wealthy, a repeal of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to spend as much money as they desire on political campaigns, as well as an end to the “corporate greed, corruption, and undue political influence which has destroyed the economy.”

Occupy Pittsburgh organizers said they are committed to nonviolence when expressing their views.