Occupy Columbia Planned For Saturday

The Occupy movement is making its way to Columbia. 

A group of protestors will gather at the Statehouse Saturday, organizers say, mainly to protest the nation's growing disparity between the richest 1 percent and the other 99 percent. 

The Occupy Columbia poster reads: "We are the 99% and so are you!"

Others protesters will speak out on issues such as rising unemployment, military occupation and the environment. 

"Everybody's opinion and why they're occupying is different," said Travis Bland, one of the organizers of Occupy Columbia. 

The protest will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, and protesters plan to stay "as long as we have to," Bland said. 

More than 150 people have responded "attending" to the Occupy Columbia Facebook event. Bland said he expects that number to grow.

Columbia Police Department officers will be patrolling the area Saturday as they usually do for protests, said Jennifer Timmons, public information officer for the department.

Occupy Columbia is standing in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, Bland said.

"I believe the core value of that protest is that they're trying to alter a system in which money equals representation," he said. 

Occupy Wall Street has inspired similar movements across . Occupy Charleston has scheduled a solidarity march and public education drive for Oct. 15. 

The movement is also spreading across the world. Occupy events are scheduled for more than 1,400 cities, according to occupytogether.org