Video Shows Bank of America Refusing to Let Protesters Close The - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

SANTA CRUZ, Calif- Two members from the Occupy Santa Cruz group went to shut down their Bank of America account when they were shut down instead.

The video posted on Youtube shows two women who were carrying signs that said, " I am closing my BOA account today." They walked into a Santa Cruz branch of Bank of America and were told that "you can not be a protesters and a customer at the same time."

The two woman offered to take their signs outside but a woman who worked at the bank told them they had to leave and they could not close their account, the video showed. According to the protesters the bank manager said that she would lock them inside the bank until the police came to arrest them.

When the women left the bank they called the police to the scene because the bank would not let them inside to close their account. The officer talked to the bank manager and told the protesters that the manager said she was told "If they came in with the signs and they were part of the protest earlier, then they are protesters and cannot be customers at the same time."

The women said that they would return to Bank of America the next day, sans signs, and close their accounts taking their "money away from the banking elite and into a local credit union."

Central Coast News has contacted Bank of America to get their side of the story. In an email Colleen Haggerty with Bank of America released this statement to Central Coast News. "It is our responsibility to ensure a safe environment for customers to conduct financial transactions.  So, due to the disruptive nature of protests lately and the potential for safety or security issues, we do not allow protestors inside of our banking centers.  If a customer who is participating in a protest wishes to conduct bank business, including close an account, we ask them to come back when they are not protesting or they may also conduct their bank business at a nearby branch away from protest activities."

Haggerty also said that Bank of Ameica, "respect everyone's ability to exercise their first amendment rights, however we also have to balance safety and business needs for all customers."