Scores of would-be protesters have bivouacked in the Malibu mountains at a training camp featuring vegetarian cooking and classes in climbing skyscrapers.
In addition to being "just darned fun," the activity provides a legal outlet for would-be protesters to address "cathedral(s) of consumption" like Wal-Mart.
Walking crosstown to the rally, tens of thousands of would-be protesters encountered a maze of barricades and a huge police presence blocking their way.
Earlier in the day, other would-be protesters had been detected and detained at their hotels.
Police surrounded and arrested several groups of would-be protesters (and more than one bystander).
The city and the Police Department have come under intense scrutiny for the tactics used to quell protests during the convention, and for spying on would-be protesters beforehand.
The Government discouraged would-be protesters by mobilizing hundreds of riot police officers and parking water-cannon trucks behind trees at the hotels where the leaders stayed.
Immigration officials were denying entry to three out of four members of a group of would-be protesters from Thailand.
She then alerted the police because, like the would-be protesters, she didn't know if the band's fans would show.
The cordon is then maintained for a number of hours: the ostensible aim is to leave would-be "violent" protesters too tired to do anything but want to go home.