Million Mask March: LIVE UPDATES
Supporters of the Anonymous hacktivist collective are holding rallies all around the world on November 5, Guy Fawkes Day.
They are protesting against what they see as the rule of greedy corporations and corrupt governments around the world.
01:26 GMT:
@TheRealRoseannepic.twitter.com/AbC8orqUO8
— F.A.C.E (@F8C3) September 28, 2013
01:08 GMT:
Looks like it's going to be a family tradition. #anon #MillionMaskMarch#mmm#austin#tx#atxpic.twitter.com/jJqoTJx05q
— Shawn Lord (@ConvInt) November 5, 2013
00:19 GMT: Separate protests coincided with the Million Mask March in London Tuesday, with demonstrators rallying against growing austerity measures in the United Kingdom. Britain’s Green Party has called on anyone who is opposed to the “heartless” cuts instituted by Prime Minister David Cameron’s government to join in a rally on Westminster bridge. In a statement to reporters, Green Party spokesman Romayne Phoenix echoed many of the same complaints lobbed by Million Mask Marchers.
“This heartless government’s austerity measures have hurt the poor thirteen times harder than the rich,” he said. “They’re slashed funding for vital public services, cut away the social safety net of benefits and seem determined to hammer the final nails in the coffin of the National Health service, an institution this country is proud of. At the same time they’ve let the banks ratchet up huge profits, allowed train operators to continue to rip-off customers and defended the energy companies whose soaring prices are forcing many people to choose between food and heating.”
23:42 GMT: Some major media outlets have been criticized throughout the day on social media for their lack of coverage on the Million Masks March.
So the media is going to completely ignore these people outside Parliament and everywhere else? #MillionMaskMarchpic.twitter.com/qVRkZEjyTj
— Oliver James (@OliverJamesUK) November 5, 2013
23:33 GMT: Sara Firth estimated that a thousand demonstrators took part in rallies early in the day, but that number fizzled to a few hundred when the march made its way to Buckingham Palace.
9 arrests so far in #London's #MillionMaskMarch@metpoliceuk tell me. Mainly for Public Order Offences. @RT_com
— Sara Firth (@SaraFirth_RT) November 5, 2013
23:09 GMT: Hundreds of people turned out in Los Angeles, California, where crowds gathered at City Hall before marching and chanting through the streets.
Still going strong in LA pic.twitter.com/9RRL3w24WQ
— Anonymous Operations (@YourAnonCentral) November 5, 2013
Marching. Broadway and 3rd Los Angeles, growing every minute. Join us. #MillionMaskMarchpic.twitter.com/YWTKjenlVx
— Anonymous Operations (@YourAnonCentral) November 5, 2013
22:59 GMT:
Protesters marching in Sao Paulo tonight. Photo: Estadao Conteudo. #MillionMaskMarchpic.twitter.com/dzNMJBd27Y
— Kety Shapazian (@KetyDC) November 5, 2013
22:51 GMT: The video below was captured at a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, where calls for nonviolence and peaceful protest have clearly done nothing to dampen the enthusiasm.
22:37 GMT: RT’s Sara Firth has been reporting live on the March throughout the day and, after speaking to London’s Metropolitan Police, found out there have been no arrests through 8:00 PM. Any arrests after that time have so far gone unreported.
22:14 GMT:
The DC #millionmaskmarch has landed at Federal Reserve headquarters. Chants of "End the Fed" abound. pic.twitter.com/KtKjjUAjD8
— Andrew Blake (@apblake) November 5, 2013
22:00 GMT:
Not my first flag burning, but definitely my first in front of the White House. #millionmaskmarchpic.twitter.com/xiVwWBjy0R
— Andrew Blake (@apblake) November 5, 2013
21:49 GMT: Actor and comedian Russell Brand, a noted supporter of anonymous and the Occupy movement, gave a now famous interview last week when he condemned what he sees as a corrupt political system. Brand was also spotted participating in London’s Million Mask March Tuesday, the same day he clarified the statements made in that interview with a column published in The Guardian.
“The only reason to vote is if the vote represents power or change. I don’t think it does,” Brand wrote. “I fervently believe that we deserve more from our democratic system than the few derisory tit-bits tossed from the carousel of the mighty, when they hop a few inches left or right. The lazily duplicitous servants of The City expect us to gratefully participate in what amounts to little more than a political hokey cokey where every four years we get to decide what colour the liar who leads us wears.”
21: 38 GMT:
#MillionMaskMarch#Buckingham Palace. Not a huge number of protestors at this spot - few hundred Estimate. pic.twitter.com/WY96OXX1M7
— Sara Firth (@SaraFirth_RT) November 5, 2013
21:16 GMT:
#MillionMaskMarch in South Africa pic.twitter.com/ihtqkn0sHq
— The Hacker News™ (@TheHackersNews) November 5, 2013
21:05 GMT:
3rd Anon arrested outside the US Capitol pic.twitter.com/3PTNT0nViv #MillionMaskMarch#Anonymous
— Anonymous (@AnonOpsLegion) November 5, 2013
21:03 GMT: Hours after Washington police made arrests protesters could still be found throughout the US capitol. Some of those participating in the Million Mask March made their way past the White House, where demonstrators spoke to Agence Presse-France about the ongoing National Security Agency surveillance.
20:50 GMT:
#MillionMaskMarch heading down the Mall and towards Buckingham Palace. Wasn't expecting that! pic.twitter.com/L7NuxtMRBr
— Sara Firth (@SaraFirth_RT) November 5, 2013
20:40 GMT:
#MillionMaskMarch moves through #London. Protestors move barriers pic.twitter.com/fxvGMLDYFr
— Sara Firth (@SaraFirth_RT) November 5, 2013
20:25 GMT:
Sara Firth @SaraFirth_RT 1m [VIDEO] Fireworks at #MillionMaskMarch#London. Lots of dancing going on here now too! http://t.co/qYdcIcREP2
— Lyme Regis Reiki (@DorsetReiki) November 5, 2013
19:55 GMT: The Fox News website was briefly scattered with some bizarre 'headlines' which they later dismissed on Twitter as an 'internal production problem'.
19:40 GMT: A Max Keiser poster has been spotted amid the banners wielded by London demonstrators.
@maxkeiser in #anonymous #MillionMaskMarch next to Parliament as police stops march & moves to kettle @stacyherbertpic.twitter.com/hkSgWPH3Dt
— Pabs (@arbolioto) November 5, 2013
@arbolioto So awesome. And that image of @maxkeiser is FAR scarier than the Guy Fawkes mask!
— Stacy Herbert (@stacyherbert) November 5, 2013
19:08 GMT: Protesters have blocked off a red London bus.
#MillionMaskMarch in #Westminster have blocked a red bus. Quite a rowdy atmostohere at the moment. pic.twitter.com/2sTw1xn5Ki
— Sara Firth (@SaraFirth_RT) November 5, 2013
18:50 GMT: Chants of "here we come, Tory scum" are coming from protesters on Downing Street. RT's Sara Firth estimates that around a thousand are present in total. Russel Brand has been spotted among them.
18:30 GMT: London protesters have started to march towards Parliament.
Anons marching on parliament right now #Nov5th#MMMpic.twitter.com/QHXWOkBERR
— Bigg (@biggpix) November 5, 2013
18:25 GMT: Turkish police are out in force, ready to confront people marching in Istanbul.
18:00 GMT: Yva Alexandrova, of the People's Assembly spoke to RT about the ideological basis for the collective's participation in the protests in London.
“The People’s Assembly is broad coalition of movements, unions, organizations, activists and campaigns groups, and its brought together to basically reach out to all members of society and send a very loud and clear message that austerity is not a policy that is working for the majority of people in this country and we are going to oppose it,” she explained.
“Four out of five jobs created are in the low wage sector, so one has to look at where this recovery is going, and who it is working for,” she said.
London's Trafalgar Square is currently swarming with protesters.
London Now #Nov5 #MillionMaskMarchpic.twitter.com/WYf940Kcer
— George Salib® (@G4S90) November 5, 2013
17:25 GMT:“We want president Obama to hear that five years after the financial crisis - the banks being bailed out – we’re still suffering, people are still struggling, we’re drowning in debt," said a march participant speaking from Washington DC.
"We live in a country that’s fundamentally unfair; we no longer have the rule of law. From the NSA, to Edward Snowden, to Chelsea Manning, all over the world, people are speaking out, whistleblowers are speaking out, regular people are speaking out and saying enough is enough. We want justice and we want it now," he added.
Watch footage from the march in Washington DC:
17:00 GMT: Crowds have gathered in Amsterdam, joining the hoards of European protesters.
16:50 GMT: Police and participants of an 'Anonymous' march in Yerevan have clashed, according to Interfax. The detentions apparently began after the organizer announced his intent to "blow up the residence of the President of Armenia."
16:45 GMT: As hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Milan, Italy, hacktivists also took down an Italian website.
16:34 GMT: One person has been arrested in Washington DC during a confrontation between protesters and police. People were heard chanting: "Whose streets? Our streets!" as the arrest was made.
One arrest at the #MillionMaskMarch outside the White House just happened now #anon#owspic.twitter.com/VG0MxAqOc2
— Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallSt) November 5, 2013
16:10 GMT:“They protest against what they see as a police state, they protest against the persecution of whistleblowers, they protest against Monsanto – the biggest producer of genetically modified seeds…generally speaking they see themselves as a movement against the government and corporations taking advantage of the people,” said RT’s Gayane Chichakyan from Washington DC.
One masked participant explained his motivations fro joining to RT. “First off it would be nice if he [Obama] would stop lying about knowing about the NSA and do something about the NSA,” he said. “Spying on foreign leaders, allies, our own people, our own communications needs to stop, and it needs to stop now,” he added.
15:55 GMT:
Police in DC attempting to divide & conquer: Threatening to pull permits for the rest of day if the crowd doesn't disperse.
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) November 5, 2013
15:35 GMT:
Several Philippine Govt websites #Hacked by #Anonymous to support #MillionMaskMarch l Via @TheHackersNewshttp://t.co/jM3Y5HmJAQ#Nov5th
— Anonymous Operations (@YourAnonCentral) November 5, 2013
15:25 GMT: Protesters are begin to gather in London's Trafalgar Square. RT's London bureau will be reporting live from the scene.
People are already starting to gather at #Trafalgar Square l #MillionMaskMarch#OpVendetta#Nov5thpic.twitter.com/rTsoUWZZLc
— Anonymous Operations (@YourAnonCentral) November 5, 2013
15:25 GMT:
RT @Versability: #MillionMaskMarch protestors in DC told to keep moving...so they started dancing...
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) November 5, 2013
15:19 GMT: Arguments over where the protesters can stand rage on, but the protesters have announced their arrival. One demonstrator on a megaphone was imploring other demonstrators to engage in acts of civil disobedience, but was seemingly met with a tepid response. Demonstrators are allowed three opportunities to obey a police order before they risk being detained.
Party has arrived! #millionmaskmarchpic.twitter.com/nLHNqWc3QX
— Jarret Horst (@JarretHorst) November 5, 2013
15:10 GMT: Protesters outside the White House in Washington DC have successfully negotiated with police to allow them to stay on the sidewalk. Chants of "No justice, No Peace" and "Obama come out, we got somethings to talk about " are intermittently ringing out.
15:06 GMT:
The Million Mask March I'm Washington, D.C. right now. pic.twitter.com/03Jn8Jjqau
— Jenna Çapulcu Pope (@BatmanWI) November 5, 2013
15:05 GMT: RadicalMedia, which is dedicated to covering Activist movements, is live streaming the Million Mask March from Washington DC.
15:00 GMT:
#Nov5 #MillionMaskMarch is starting in WashingtonDC on the mall. Over 200 here so far @Smok3yAnon@DCMediaGrouppic.twitter.com/gScJkHHw3d
— john zangas (@johnzangas) November 5, 2013
14:50 GMT:
#MillionMaskMarch participants begin to gather at Washington Monument. #MMMpic.twitter.com/GxS56FRE3D
— The Blog Pirate (@TheBlogPirate) November 5, 2013
13:55 GMT: The Million Mask March is just kicking off in Washington DC. Event organizers planned to meet up at the Washington Monument at the National Mall and march on to Lafayette Park. Over 17,000 people plan on attending, according to the group’s Facebook page. The stated goal of the march is: "To remind this world what it has forgotten, that fairness, justice and freedom are more than just words."
13:30 GMT: The Philippines are among one of several Southeast Asian states to hold marches as part of the global event.
#MillionMaskMarch in Philippines #onpic.twitter.com/Y59jVk1VPG
— natalia rivera scott (@nat_riverascott) November 5, 2013
12:53 GMT:
STOP WATCHING US #MMM#Anonymous#Italypic.twitter.com/Mt3V9UQSor
— -= AnonSweden =- (@AnonswedenInfo) November 5, 2013
12:50 GMT: Hundreds of protesters in a “spontaneous protest” marching through the streets of Milan, Italy. Rallies are also set to be held in the Italian cities of Florence, Palermo and Rome.
In centinaia di maschere in corteo spontaneo e selvaggio a #milano .. #onemillionmaskmarch ! pic.twitter.com/TfDHVR1ZoL
— Cut Milano (@Cut_Milano) November 5, 2013
12:45 GMT:
Anonymous everywhere in Asia, Africa, Far East in Europe #anonymous - #MillionMaskMarch#Nov5thpic.twitter.com/DEUa7QKXS6
— Marxist (@KIZIL_DERE) November 5, 2013
12:35 GMT: In Brisbane Australia, meanwhile, the protest attracted more participants than originally expected. Speaking from King George Square, a speaker a rally identified as Steven, told ABC News that the non-centralized nature of Anonymous made it difficult to pinpoint an exact message behind the global rally.
"There’s so much that goes on in our world, and with Anonymous, because there’s so many of us, it’s really hard to have an orderly or structured discussion, rally or march on one point. So it’s probably best that we just incorporate all of them.”
12:30 GMT:
Much, much bigger than thought #anonymous@9NewsBrisbane#qldpolpic.twitter.com/DDKlrzMYmn
— Shane Doherty (@ShaneDoherty_9) November 5, 2013
12:28 GMT: Several hundred people came out to take part in the Million Mask March in Melbourne, Australia. Activists, however, marked a note of overall disappointment with the day's proceedings, with many noting disaffection with the speakers at the event.
12:20 GMT:
12:10 GMT:
#SouthAfrica#CapeTown: #N5 #MillionMaskMarch#Nov5th#Anonymous In Mandela Square via @ewnreporterpic.twitter.com/lZkafrd32F
— kurtizz (@kurtizz01) November 5, 2013
12:05 GMT: Several dozen demonstrators have gathered in Nelson Mandela Square, a popular shopping center in Johannesburg, South Africa, to participate in the Million Mask March. According to the 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, South Africa ranked 69th out of 176 countries, tied with Brazil and Macedonia. Organizers of the rally put corruption and tax fraud on the top of their agenda.
12:00 GMT:
#Anonymous on @NelsonMandelaSq in @SandtonCity... Wonder what they were hoping to achieve by this? pic.twitter.com/0Z4Tc9N70m
— Mika Stefano (@MikaStefano) November 5, 2013
09:00 GMT: Anonymous movement is a peaceful pro-people collective with a diverse agenda, one of the masked protesters told 612 ABC Brisbane radio station.
“At the end of the day it is well-known that Anonymous is a non-violent collective, and we actually try to fight for people, for injustices,” the man, who introduced himself as Steven, said.
07:50 GMT: Australia’s Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were among those holding mask protests on Tuesday.
The family that protests together .... @9NewsBrisbane#qldpol#Anonymouspic.twitter.com/9AXISjaE8H
— Shane Doherty (@ShaneDoherty_9) November 5, 2013
The country itself has been targeted by Anonymous recently over reported spying on Indonesians. Hackers calling themselves Anonymous Indonesia defaced some 200 websites with the .au domain in a gesture of protest.
Indonesia itself also had a masked protest on Guy Fawkes Day.
[#MillionMaskMarch] Indonesia: pic.twitter.com/dfcXkeT9mo#Nov5th
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) November 5, 2013
GMT: 07:40
Anon assembly Aotea Square Auckland. pic.twitter.com/0brhllTD6b
— Occupy NZ (@OccupyNZ) November 5, 2013
07:10 GMT: Anonymous Philippines marched to Batasang Pambansa complex Tuesday noon to protest rampant corruption in the country, Manila Bulletin. Police officers briefly blocked the march after it gathered along Quezon City Circle, but later allowed them to proceed to the vicinity of the House of Representatives.
The group has discouraged activists from using banners which would identify their organizations, saying they should keep the protest “anonymous.”
[#MillionMaskMarch] Philippines: "We are not anti-system, the system is anti-us. " pic.twitter.com/mnEC8UTOUd#Nov5th via @buenabernal
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) November 5, 2013
Last Sunday hackers pledging allegiance to the Anonymous cause attacked at least 39 local and national government websites in the Philippines, drawing extra public interest to the Tuesday protest.
07:00 GMT: In Japan the Guy Fawkes-themed action had an environmental twist, as masked activists made their contribution to cleaning the streets.
