Anti-Wall Street movement spreads in US

At least one protest grew violent. In Rome,rioters hijacked what had been a peaceful gathering by tens of thousands and smashed windows,tore up sidewalks and torched vehicles. Repair costs were estimated at $1.4 million,the mayor said Sunday. Around 70 people were injured.

In Chicago,about 500 people set up camp at the entrance to Grant Park after a protest earlier in the day involving about 2,000,the Chicago Tribune reported. The police said they gave protesters repeated warnings after the park closed at 11 pm and began making arrests when they refused to leave. They could face fines for violating a municipal ordinance.

In New York,two dozen were arrested late Saturday when demonstrators entered a Citibank branch and refused to leave,the police said. Earlier,as many as 1,000 demonstrators also paraded to a Chase bank branch,banging drums,blowing horns and carrying signs decrying corporate greed. The day culminated in an event in the city’s Times Square,where thousands of demonstrators mixed with gawkers,Broadway showgoers,tourists and police to create a chaotic scene in the midst of Manhattan. “Banks got bailed out,we got sold out!’’ protesters chanted from within police barricades.

In New York City,the protesters at the heart of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement were planning a day of rest Sunday. The group that insists on being leaderless had nothing on its agenda save its nightly assembly and one committee meeting.

Throughout the US,from several dozen people in Jackson,Mississippi,to some 2,000 each in Pittsburgh and Chicago,the protest gained momentum. Nearly 1,500 gathered for a march past banks in downtown Orlando,Florida. Hundreds marched on a Key Bank branch in Anchorage,Alaska,and declared it should be foreclosed.

Overseas,tens of thousands nicknamed “the indignant’’ marched in cities across Europe. Around 250 protesters set up camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of London on Sunday,promising to occupy the site indefinitely to show their anger at bankers and politicians over the global economic crisis.