Oakland on Fire: Obama Gets Class War He Asked For

Anti-Wall Street protesters in Oakland have vandalized a Whole Foods store and shattered windows at two downtown banks.

Windows were shattered at a Bank of America branch, where someone also spraypainted "Class War" and "Shut it Down," near Lake Merritt and a Chase bank at 20th and Webster streets.

Police officers on Wednesday afternoon stood outside the Chase bank, where vandals also defaced the ATM machines, spraypainting them black. Read more at LATimes.com.

==========================================================================

Police and protesters supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement clashed downtown following a day of peaceful protests throughout Oakland.

The confrontation began after protesters started a large bonfire in the middle of a downtown street. Dozens of police in riot gear moved in on hundreds of protesters as the flames leaped more than 15 feet in the air from several large metal and plastic trash bins that had been pushed together.

Police warned protesters to clear out before firing several rounds of tear gas and "flash bang" grenades to clear the area.

CBS Radio station KCBS reported there were no known injuries from the clashes. A KCBS reporter said he saw at least 30 arrested protesters being led away by police.

In the aftermath of the police actions, protesters with cloth wrapped around their faces to protect them from the stench of the gas marched through the area chanting, "Whose streets? Our streets."

Some marchers wore gas masks.

Glass covered streets and sidewalks from windows of area businesses that were shattered. Read more at CBSNews.com.

===========================================================================

Demonstrators managed to gain entry to an empty building that had housed the Traveler's Aid Society, a nonprofit that assists the homeless but had suffered funding cuts. Leaflets indicated that protesters had targeted the building for "reuse." They branded it a new "community center" in Twitter feeds. Video from an ABC helicopter showed jubilant crowds flowing in and out of the building, where a banner marked "Occupy Everything" hung. Others built a barricade nearby, presumably to discourage police.

Shortly before midnight, local media reported that police officers from surrounding agencies were suiting up in riot gear. Some demonstrators lit the barricade aflame. Firefighters doused it. A police statement later said protesters had hurled rocks, explosives, bottles and flaming objects at  officers. Read more at LATimes.com.