A Whole Foods store in Oakland, Calif., reportedly was vandalized after rumors spread that the upscale grocer threatened to fire employees who participated in the Occupy Wall Street protests sweeping the city on Wednesday.
KGO-TV of San Francisco reports that the grocery chain denied making any such threats and tweeted that “Team members were told to attend if they wanted to.”
The supermarket was one of at least five businesses believed to have been vandalized by what was billed as a “general strike” in California’s eighth-largest city.
Vandalism was reported at several banks, including a shattered window at a Bank of America branch, KGO-TV reports.
There was also what was described as a “tense confrontation” between police and a few hundred protesters that focused on a reopening of a foreclosed building.
Two protesters were injured during the protests after being struck by a car, whose driver had reportedly become frustrated.
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