National People’s Action director BUSTED during Occupy Wells Fargo action in Iowa

New Bottom Line partner National People’s Action director George Goehl was arrested alongside nine other members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Monday afternoon during a direct action street protest at a Wells Fargo office in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, just one day before a Wells Fargo shareholders’ meeting in San Francisco, California is expected to draw thousands of demonstrators.

Dozens of protesters entered Wells Fargo’s downtown Des Moines offices and refused to leave until CEO John Stumpf agreed to give the 99% Power coalition 1 hour of time during the shareholders’ meeting agenda in San Francisco Tuesday to present their grievances to big bank officials.

The community-faith-labor coalition demands Wells Fargo stop home foreclosures, reduce principle balances on underwater mortgages, pay their fair share of taxes, get their big money out of the political system, and stop financing payday lenders, private prisons, factory farms, and coal plants.

“Not only does Wells CEO John Stump believe his bank is too big to fail, he also seems to believe they are too big to be held accountable,” Goehl said. “We’re here today in Des Moines, Iowa and tomorrow in San Francisco ,California to prove him wrong.”

Iowa CCI members – including a family farmer, a former Methodist minister, a Vietnam veteran, and a retired Ag extension officer – say they were forced to resort to civil disobedience after Wells Fargo officials refused to grant them speaking time at tomorrow’s shareholders’ meeting in San Francisco or negotiate CCI member’s “put people first” demands in good faith.

“We’ve asked Wells Fargo four times in the past four weeks for 1 hour on stage tomorrow in San Francisco and they’ve said no every time,” said Stephanie Simmons, a former Methodist Minister from Guthrie Center, Iowa and CCI board member who was arrested Monday. “We want to talk about Wells Fargo’s shameful record on tax dodging, home foreclosures, predatory lending, political contributions, and CEO bonuses.”

Des Moines, Iowa is the national headquarters of Wells Fargo’s Home Mortgage division.

“Wells Fargo’s mortgage office here in Iowa is making billions in profits every year by kicking hardworking families out of their homes and they aren’t even paying taxes on their ill-got wealth,” said Kenn Bowen, a Vietnam veteran and retired communications worker from Winterset, Iowa who was arrested Monday. “That ain’t right. Wells Fargo should be broken up into smaller, community banks that will put people before profits.”