Demonstration Downtown, Protesters March

WASHINGTON -- Saturday's protests of the World bank, and International Monetary Fund were mostly peaceful Saturday, following a more violent protest Friday night when two were arrested and one woman was injured.

While some of the street closings related to the protest will be over by last Saturday night, there will still be rolling street closures throughout the weekend and into Monday evening. You can read more about the closings here.

People protesting the IMF/World Bank meetings marched between Franklin Park, at 14th and I streets Northwest, ending at Edward R. Murrow Park, 18th and H Streets Northwest.

"People over profit," "Spank the bank, drop the debt," read just a few of the signs of demonstrators at Franklin Square Park.

One demonstrator was using more than just signs to get his point across by wearing a George W. Bush mask, and carrying around a devil's pitchfork.

The demonstrators were from the October Rebellion Coalition, to denounce what they call corporate greed, and corporate welfare.

What had been a mostly peaceful demonstration, turned ugly for a short time when demonstrators and police started to clash.

The trouble began when a couple of world finance ministers made their way through metal police barricades with some protesters shouting in their faces. The protesters then started to push and pull on those barricades, causing police to move in and push the crowd back. The entire crowd then started running.

The commotion quickly started to die down, but demonstrators were still fired up shouting, "Shame! Shame!" One Iraq War veteran told a couple of officers that the police were, "a disgrace." It is not known if police made any arrests in this situation.

After hours of chanting and marching the demonstration started to die down around 4 p.m.

They claim that World Bank and IMF policies benefit the rich, and hurt poor countries in the Middle East, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

"What are we saying?" said one protestor. "We're saying the IMF and the World Bank are the trojan horses of corporate capitalism throughout the world."

The IMF and World Bank say their policies are not as restrictive as the demonstrators claim, noting that they have canceled and forgiven much debt over recent years.

About 400 demonstrators filled the streets of Georgetown Friday night, to protest this weekend's meetings. They gathered at Washington Circle to send a message to what they call " a seat of excessive wealth and privilege."

At times, the protest grew intense and dangerous.

Two protesters were arrested after they were pushed into a police line and got into a confrontation with police officers.

As demonstrators approached the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, they started throwing bricks at shops and businesses.

One young woman was hurt while walking with a group of friends Friday night. She was struck in the forehead and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Popular Georgetown stores such as the GAP, American Eagle, Urban Outfitters, Banana Republic and two cosmetic stores, plus Restoration Hardware, are all located in within a block or two of Wisconsin and M streets.

Several store owners anticipated vandalism this weekend and boarded up businesses early Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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