More than 2,500 people from across the country converged on the National Mall in Washington, DC this week for a series of actions called “Take Back the Capitol,” or “99 in DC.”

You could think of this group of 99-percenters as a more centralized, short-term version of an Occupy encampment. The actions are sponsored by the American Dream Movement and are in solidarity, but not affiliated, with Occupy. Organizers say the action was planned before Occupy gained popularity, but that Take Back the Capitol benefits from the “99 percent” rhetoric and energy of Occupy.

The group is also visibly more diverse in race and age than a typical Occupy camp. There is a strong labor presence, especially from the Service Employees International Union, which helped to organize the events, and protesters are specifically pushing for policies like unemployment insurance extension, closing corporate tax loopholes, and President Obama’s job-creation bill.

Protesters gathered in massive white tents on the National Mall to organize, though they’re not allowed to sleep there. During the day, they break into groups under leaders from progressive organizations like the SEIU and OurDC and take various actions around the city.

On Tuesday, that action was to occupy Congress.

The hallways of House and Senate office buildings were full of people sitting and waiting for meetings with their representatives. Most didn’t have an appointment. Some were heard, either by congressional aides or representatives themselves. Others chanted and knocked on locked doors. Some sat in waiting rooms all day, despite insistence from aides that their representative was unavailable or out of the area.

“We were told [Sen. Dean] Heller [of Nevada] wasn’t here,” said protester Jennifer Reed. “But then, we saw him in the hallway.”

Protesters said a number of representatives seemed suspiciously unavailable, though aides maintained that the congressmen had busy schedules.

Rep. Darrell Issa called security on protesters in his office. Sen. Scott Brown, though he was in Washington and took a vote, never showed up at his office to face the 100 demonstrators from Massachusetts waiting for him.

Darrin Howell was one of several demonstrators waiting for Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina.

“The aides said they’d relay any messages we had, but I feel like that would be in vain,” Howell said. “We want eye contact and a direct response from him about his employment voting record.”

A group of demonstrators from Washington eventually talked to Congressman Dave Reichert after his staff initially told them he was unavailable.

“He was very nice and polite,” said demonstrator Hunter Marshall. “I give him a lot of credit for talking to us, which is out of character for him. But a lot of his responses were just traditional rhetoric—addressing the issues without actually addressing them.”