Washington ( CNN ) -- Twelve persons were arrested Friday during an `` Occupy '' demonstration at the U.S. Supreme Court in which protesters were dressed like justices and sang songs of the Motown group The Supremes , officials said . One person was arrested in the building and the other 11 were apprehended on the courthouse steps and plaza , court officials said . The `` Occupy '' movement turned its focus on the nation 's highest court as more than 200 people gathered around the building . The event was timed with the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission , which removed many limits to corporate spending in federal political campaigns , organizers said . The 2010 ruling made it legal for groups to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money for a candidate , as long as the group does not coordinate with the candidate or contributed directly to his or her campaign . It allowed for the rise of Super PACs , which can raise unlimited funds from corporations . Protests were also expected at federal courthouses in dozens of cities across the country , from Akron , Ohio , to Gainesville , Florida , to Honolulu , Hawaii . The one-day event , dubbed `` Occupy the Courts , '' was organized by the grassroots group called Move to Amend and was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street participants , organizers said . `` Move to Amend volunteers across the USA will lead the charge on the judiciary which created -- and continues to expand -- corporate personhood rights , '' the Occupy the Courts website states . The Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York in September has spread across major cities worldwide as a call to action against what protesters consider the unequal distribution of wealth . CNN 's Bill Mears , Stacey Samuel and Michael Martinez contributed to this report .
NEW : One person is arrested inside courthouse and 11 others outside . The event spotlights the two-year anniversary of a Supreme Court decision . The decision allowed the rise of the Super PACs . Protests were also expected at federal courthouses in other cities .