POST FALLS - Jess Sifford said it's the blue collar working class, not corporate America and CEOs, that could use some breaks and bailouts.

That's why the Post Falls man was among 13 who participated in a protest along Seltice Way at the Post Falls branch of Bank of America on Wednesday night due to the corporation's alleged handling of foreclosures and other practices. The protest was part of a nationwide rally organized by MoveOn.org.

"Bank of America is the least likely to help out with the mortgage crisis," said Sifford, adding that he's not a MoveOn.org member but a concerned citizen. "We need a bailout, not big corporations."

The assistant manager of the Post Falls Bank of America referred a call seeking comment to company spokeswoman Britney Sheehan, who declined to comment on the protest.

"We respect people's right to protest," Sheehan said of the company's reason for not commenting.

Sifford said the Post Falls branch was chosen as the protest site simply because it's centrally located in the region.

"This is a bi-partisan movement and our intent is to not harm this branch," Sifford said. "But we still want to get our message across to the corporate level."

Sifford said he recently tried to modify his home loan with Bank of America, but "was run through the ringer."

"This is a good time for me to say, 'Enough is enough,'" he said. "It's near and dear to me."

Groups organizing the protests call themselves "99 Percent Power," meaning they represent the lower- and middle classes and not the wealthy.

"There's a disappearance of the middle class, jobs are being shipped overseas and a lot of people are only making minimum wage," said Post Falls' Terry Sherven, a protester. "If that's our future, then welcome to Third World America."

Some protests of the bank's handling of foreclosures, its investments in payday lenders and investments in the coal industry were less peaceful elsewhere.

Four people were arrested Wednesday as they tried to force their way into the annual shareholders' meeting in Charlotte, N.C. Police used a new ordinance to declare the gathering an extraordinary event subject to special restrictions.

Hundreds of people gathered on the streets as dozens of police officers worked to contain the protest.

On stage, CEO Brian Moynihan's attempts at sidestepping hard questions or deflecting answers were met with loud jeers. Attendees shouted "amen" after anti-Bank of America statements were made by other shareholders.

At least 20 shareholders spoke at the meeting. Almost all disapproved of various Bank of America practices.

Moynihan said the bank has about 50,000 people dedicated to working with troubled homeowners and has modified more than 1 million loans, but some borrowers say the company doesn't call back or has lost documents.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.