Occupy movement marks 5 years
NEW YORK (AP) - Five years after the Occupy Wall Street began and then seemingly fizzled, demonstrators are gathering once again in New York City's Zuccotti Park on Saturday to mark the movement and what they say has been its lasting impact.
They take credit for introducing income inequality into the broader political discourse, and for inspiring the fight for a $15 minimum wage and, most recently, the Democratic presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Some political observers even draw a line between the movement and the rise of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who tapped into the vein of suspicion against the power of elites -- the 1 percent -- that Occupy made ubiquitous.
Occupy organizer Kalle Lasn (KAH-lay LAH-son) says the movement "had a deep-down effect on activists around the world."