Nationwide protests denounce big money in US politics

Conservative and independent protesters channeling themes from the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders dumped faux contributions into Boston Harbor on Friday, one of some 30 nationwide demonstrations planned against big money in politics.

In Washington, police arrested 142 members of a more liberal group called Democracy Spring including 12 who cuffed themselves inside the Capitol Rotunda to protest the influence of special interests and to denounce laws making it more difficult to vote.

Both the week-long protests in Washington and Friday's nationwide demonstrations led by the activist group Represent.Us have tapped into some of the voter frustration seen on the presidential campaign trail.

"From super PACs (political action committees) to lucrative job offers and campaign contributions, there are tons of perfectly legal ways to bribe a politician," said Charlotte Hill, communications director for Represent.Us.

"It doesn't matter if you're conservative or progressive. Two hundred and forty-three years after the original Boston Tea Party, Americans of all political stripes are still facing taxation without political representation," said Dan Krassner, political director of Represent.Us. About 40 activists attended the symbolic re-staging of the Boston Tea Party near the spot where American colonists dumped tea into the harbor to protest taxes levied by the British.