Occupy protesters blast 'criminality' of Wall Street

By Miranda Leitsinger, NBC News Looking to reignite their movement, Occupy Wall Street activists are planning a sit-down protest around the iconic New York Stock Exchange on Monday to mark their one-year anniversary. Linda Brown, a retired teacher from Brooklyn, gathered with about 100 protesters blocks from the NYSE preparing to join the sit-down. "I think what we have learned a lot in the last couple of years is that the financial crisis wasn't just an act of god ... it was brought about by a whole lot of criminality," said Brown, 66, who has been participating in Occupy since last October. "This is our democracy, it's really at risk," she added. "We're petitioning for redress of our grievances."  Though Occupy Wall Street galvanized thousands of people across the country last year to protest against the abuses of what they called the "one percent," their numbers have dwindled amid internal squabbling, questions over leadership and financial transparency, and what critics called a lack of direction and goals. But they're hoping Monday will help put more focus onto their original concerns: corporate greed, income inequality and money in politics.  "Why are we going back to Wall Street? Because the one percent wants it all and they're not giving anything up without a struggle. Economic conditions are roughly as bad as they were a year ago and for many, many people they're precarious," said Bill Dobbs, of the Occupy Wall Street public relations team. What happened to Occupy Wall Street? Photoblog: Protesters attempt to reignite their movement Monday's demonstration will culminate three days of teach-ins, marches, a town square and other events in New York leading up to the anniversary of the day when protesters first occupied Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan. Authorities evicted them from the site, which had turned into a large camp, about two months later. Late Sunday, there were few signs of the protest's once huge presence. "Mic check! Mic check! It's almost midnight," Yvonne Gougelet's voice echoed through Zuccotti Park late Sunday. "Does anyone want to count down?" About a dozen Occupy protesters remained in the park, which paled in comparison to the "500 or so people" who were there hours earlier, according to a private security officer. Gougelet wasn't discouraged: "Ten, nine, eight, seven," she counted down to midnight, waving her arms and twirling elegantly with each digit. "Happy Birthday, Occupy!" "I was here last year," Gougelet -- whose Twitter biography identifies her as a "wild activist, actress, playwright, producer, director" -- told NBC News. Dressed as Marie Antoinette, she greeted the park's other occupants warmly. A couple of feet away, a man quietly tapped away on his smartphone. Minutes earlier, he'd marked the anniversary with a Facebook post: "Happy new year, shanah tovah, and happy anniversary occupy wall street. I am sitting in liberty square (zuccotti park) and it feels like the calm before the storm. We will be brave, stoic in the face of oppression, and strong through knowing that although they can chain us, cage us, and hurt us, they will never be able to silence us. Peace, love, solidarity…" On another side of the park, which was surrounded by several dozen police and private security officers, Daniel Baez sat alone, strumming "Happy Birthday" on a borrowed guitar. Related: 'Battle for the soul of Occupy': Activists fear becoming Democratic 'pet' 'Tea and Occupy' -- a discussion/debate between members of the two movements Occupy Congress: Could it be politics as unusual? To demand or not to demand? That is the 'Occupy' question Chicago braces for major protests as NATO summit looms Old guard back in the trenches at 'Occupy' protests