Occupy LA
A police officer watches as Occupy Los Angeles protesters hold signs and march from Pershing Square to Los Angeles City Hall in sympathy of Occupy Wall Street in New York City. No arrests have been made yet. Getty Images

The influence of the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City is spreading to major cities throughout the U.S. quickly. Boston, where 24 people were arrested on trespassing charges in Dewey Square, has joined the ranks with cities like Philadelphia preparing for protests on the way.

Welcome Los Angeles now.

Protesters have been camping in tents and on blankets outside Los Angeles City Hall since Saturday, sleeping on the pavement. Occupy Los Angeles is a loose organization of several hundred people, similar to Occupy Boston. They marched and rallied Sunday, holding signs on the sidewalk that blasted corporate influence on government. They used Internet sites to mobilize and get attention.

It's been a very peaceful demonstration, said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Mitzi Fierro to the Los Angeles Times. 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 moved from the grass on the south lawn of City Hall to the sidewalk at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. They moved from the pavement back to the lawn at 6 a.m. Monday.

No arrests have been made and police say the demonstrators can stay unless they cause problems.

Organizers say they're planning an evening march through downtown Los Angeles in sympathy with about 700 Wall Street protesters who were arrested in New York over the weekend, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

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