The Occupy Wall Street movement hit Congress on Tuesday, with six arrested after dozens of demonstrators staged a short protest in the Hart Senate Office building.
The now-national effort has mostly targeted financial institutions, but it has also taken aim at the political system. Hundreds of protesters descended on Washington last week, assembling downtown near the White House and K Street but surprisingly avoiding Capitol Hill until Tuesday.
The protesters entered Hart late on Tuesday morning and occupied several floors before unfurling banners and chanting, staffers and U.S. Capitol Police said. Witnesses said one banner said “Cut Military Spending.”
The protest took advantage of Hart’s 90-foot central atrium, where upper floors look down on the lobby below.
Witnesses were unsure how many demonstrators were on hand, with estimates ranging from three dozen to 100. Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a Capitol Police spokeswoman, said six people were arrested and charged with unlawfully demonstrating in a Capitol building. They were being processed at Capitol Police headquarters on Tuesday.
The Hart protest is reportedly just one among several planned for Tuesday near the Capitol.
Hart has not seen the end of protests for the day.
Before the Senate vote on President Obama’s jobs plan, SEIU and others are planning a 3 p.m. prayer vigil in the building’s atrium. Assembled will be “unemployed workers and their supporters,” according to an announcement from organizers.
A U.S. Park Police officer removes a wooden structure from a tent at McPherson Square park in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. Park Police entered the square before dawn to enforce a no camping law on Occupy D.C. protesters. (Cliff Owen/AP)
Occupy D.C. protestors confront U.S. Park Police in McPherson Square before dawn as police enforce a no camping law on Occupy D.C. protesters in Washington, one of the nation's last remaining Occupy sites, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. McPherson Square is a federal park near the White House, where demonstrators have enjoyed special First Amendment protections by virtue of the square's designation as park service property. (Cliff Owen/AP)
Occupy D.C. protestors show their opposition as U.S. Park Police enforce a no camping law at McPherson Square near the White House in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (Cliff Owen/AP)
A sign announcing regulations hung at the Occupy DC camp at McPherson Square in Washington, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. U.S. Park Police planned to begin enforcing a no-camping rule at two Washington sites where Occupy protesters have been demonstrating for months over economic inequality and other issues. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
An Occupy DC protestor at McPherson Square packs up belongings in expectation of an enforcement of a no-camping regulation, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, in Washington. U.S. Park Police planned to begin enforcing a no-camping rule at two Washington sites where Occupy protesters have been demonstrating for months over economic inequality and other issues. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Occupy D.C. demonstrators threw glitter on guests and police as they tried to block the entrance to the Alfalfa Dinner at the Capitol Hilton in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 28. An Occupy D.C. organizer said they had hundreds of protesters lined up outside the prestigious Washington hotel where President Obama, other political leaders and business moguls were meeting. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Metropolitan police push back demonstrators who were trying to block the guest entrance to the Alfalfa Dinner at the Capitol Hilton in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Occupy D.C. demonstrators protested as they tried to block the guest entrance to the Alfalfa Dinner at the Capitol Hilton in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Occupy D.C. demonstrators protested against the Alfalfa Dinner at the Capitol Hilton in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 28. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Demonstrators chanted for jobs outside on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 8, 2011. Dozens of activists were protesting what they saw as the government's lack of action on unemployment. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Demonstrators chant slogans outside of the White House during a protest in Washington on Wednesday Dec. 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Police move Occupy D.C. demonstrators off K Street on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
D.C. demonstrators march on K Street in Washington on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Orlando Gonzales, 88, from Washington, joins in a protest inside the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington. They are demanding that the lawmakers represent the "99 percent" and not just the corporate lobbyist and and the richest. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Keith Thomas, 49, right, and Orlando Gonzales, 88, left, wearing red ski hat, both from Washington, join in a protest inside the office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
Singer songwriter, Jackson Browne, warms-up before performing for Occupy Washington participants, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, at Freedom Plaza in Washington. Browne sang to show his solidarity with the OccupyMovement. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Copies of the U.S. Constitution lay on the ground in McPherson Square in Washington, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, a day after U.S. Park Police arrested protestors for constructing a wooden structure. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Occupy DC protesters watch morning commuters walk through McPherson Square in Washington, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, a day after U.S. Park Police arrested demonstrators for constructing a wooden structure. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Occupy DC protesters watch morning commuters walk through McPherson Square in Washington, Monday, Dec. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
An unidentified protestor is arrested in McPherson Square in downtown Washington Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. U.S. Park Police are arresting Occupy DC protesters who are refusing to dismantle an unfinished wooden structure erected in the park square overnight. Police Sunday told the protestors they'd need a permit for such a structure and gave them an hour to disassemble it. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
An unidentified protestor is arrested in McPherson Square in downtown Washington Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
McPherson Square, home of Washington's Occupy Wall Street protests on Monday Nov. 7, 2011. (Richard A. Bloom)
A man lies on the ground Monday Nov. 7, 2011, at McPherson Square, where Washington's Occupy Wall Street protests are taking place. (Richard A. Bloom)
McPherson Square on Monday Nov. 7, 2011, home of Washington's Occupy movement. (Richard A. Bloom)
McPherson Square is home to Washingotn's Occupy Wall Street protests, seen here on Monday Nov. 7, 2011. (Richard A. Bloom)
An Occupy Wall Street protester sits in McPherson Square in Washington on Monday Nov. 7, 2011. (Richard A. Bloom)
Occupy D.C. protesters march from McPherson Square toward Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Oct. 26, as members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction met for their third public hearing. (CHRIS HELLER)
A protester's tent in McPherson Square. Tarps to keep the park's new residents dry are the most-requested item from the group's finance committee. (Catherine Hollander)
Women stop to chat in front of Occupy D.C. tents in McPherson Square. (Catherine Hollander)
An Occupy D.C. sign riffs on the District's "Taxation without Representation" license plates. (Catherine Hollander)
Protester J.C. prepares fruit for McPherson Square's visitors. (Catherine Hollander)
A selection of books in the newly-established Occupy D.C. library. (Catherine Hollander)
A sign criticizing corporate greed in D.C.'s McPherson Square. (Catherine Hollander)
A woman stands barefoot next to Occupy DC's "comfort station" and a box of shoes for the protesters. (Catherine Hollander)
Alli McCracken, 22, of Washington, with the organization Code Pink, is detained on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011, after disrupting a House Armed Services Committee hearing where Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey were testifying. (JACQUELYN MARTIN/AP)
Peace protesters wait in line to enter the House Armed Services Committee hearing. (JACQUELYN MARTIN/AP)
Two demonstrators are removed from the committee hearing room on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011, after yelling and holding up signs to disrupt testimony by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. (CLIFF OWEN/AP)
Capitol Hill police detain one of the protesters outside of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011. (J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP)
Demonstrators walk through the make-shift tent city as part of the Occupy D.C. demonstration on Tuesday. The group began camping in Freedom Plaza on Thursday, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan on Friday. But individuals passionate about a variety of causes came to camp out with complaints about issues ranging from health care to home foreclosures and education spending. (JOSE LUIS MAGANA/AP)
Anti-war demonstrators protest in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011. (EVAN VUCCI/AP)
An anti-war demonstrator is arrested by Capitol Hill police on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011, in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington. (EVAN VUCCI/AP)
Demonstrators protest in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011. (EVAN VUCCI/AP)
Capitol Hill police carry a protester in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011. (J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP)
The Occupy Wall Street movement that started in New York spread to Freedom Plaza in Washington on Thursday. (Chet Susslin)
Although most chants and signs were antiwar, the anticorporate and anti-Wall-Street sentiments were displayed prominently as well. (Chet Susslin)
A group shouting antiwar slogans gathers around a large drum. (Chet Susslin)
Demonstrators dressed as Guantanamo Bay detainees march around Freedom Plaza. (Chet Susslin)
Jim Goodnow, of Terlingua, Texas, with the Big Bend chapter of the Veteran's for Peace, chants while wearing a cast with the slogan "End Warfare, Not Health Care." (Chet Susslin)
Protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement shout antiwar slogans and hold banners and signs calling for the end of corporate greed. (Chet Susslin)
Valerie Kiebala, 18, and David Griscom, 18, heard about the protests on the American University campus. Kiebala, a freshman international studies major, plans to stay the night in the square and isn't afraid of getting arrested. "If it happens it happens," she said. (SARA SORCHER)
Mariel Escobar of Morehead City, N.C., broke her femur and has no health care. She can't afford a CT scan and lost her job. "We certainly have enough wealth in this country that we can have a national health care system" she said, upset with the level of health care members of Congress are entitled to. "One term and they've got it made." (SARA SORCHER)
Barry Riesch is a 63-year-old Vietnam veteran who has been attending antiwar protests for decades. He traveled to join the Occupy D.C. protest from Minnesota with 30 representatives from the Veterans for Peace group. (SARA SORCHER)
D.C. Fire and EMS Capt. Scott Smith was on hand at the protests, in the event anybody is injured. But he said he expects "a nice, easy, smooth rally" without any violence. (SARA SORCHER)
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A group of anti-war protesters marched from Freedom Plaza to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on Friday, Oct. 7, to mark the 10-year anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan and to call for peace. (Chet Susslin)
Bill Wisniewski of Denver writes a message on a large sheet, starting with the preamble to the Constitution. (Chet Susslin)
Michael McPhearson, a national coordinator for United Justice for Peace, an Army veteran, and the father of an Army veteran, speaks to a group about Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy fighting for peace in Vietnam and how it parallels the need for peace today. (Chet Susslin)
Activists carry signs comparing the costs of war with the cost of education. (Chet Susslin)
An inflatable planet earth is surrounded by placards calling for peace, environmental conservation, and education rather than war. (Chet Susslin)
Occupy Los Angeles protesters march through buildings during a rally in Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
In this Sept. 17, 2011 file photo, a woman in the crowd displays a sign as demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement gather to call for the occupation of Wall Street in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
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