Poor Showing for War Protest But Cops Crack More Than 190 Little Commie Heads

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/iraq_war_protest/2007/09/15/32969.html

More Than 190 Arrested at Iraq Protest

Saturday, September 15, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Several thousand anti-war demonstrators marched through

downtown Washington on Saturday, clashing with police at the foot of the

Capitol steps where more than 190 protesters were arrested.

The group marched from the White House to the Capitol to demand an end to

the Iraq war. Their numbers stretched for blocks along Pennsylvania Avenue,

and they held banners and signs and chanted, "What do we want? Troops out.

When do we want it? Now."

Army veteran Justin Cliburn, 25, of Lawton, Okla., was among a contingent of

Iraq veterans in attendance.

"We're occupying a people who do not want us there," Cliburn said of Iraq.

"We're here to show that it isn't just a bunch of old hippies from the 60s

who are against this war."

Counterprotesters lined the sidewalks behind metal barricades. There were

some heated shouting matches between the two sides.

The arrests came after protesters lay down on the Capitol lawn in what they

called a "die in" _ with signs on top of their bodies to represent soldiers

killed in Iraq. When police took no action, some of the protesters started

climbing over a barricade at the foot of the Capitol steps.

Many were arrested without a struggle after they jumped over the waist-high

barrier. But some grew angry as police with shields and riot gear attempted

to push them back. At least two people were showered with chemical spray.

Protesters responded by throwing signs and chanting: "Shame on you."

The number of arrests by Capitol Police on Saturday was much higher than

previous anti-war rallies in Washington this year. Five people were arrested

at a protest outside the Pentagon in March when they walked onto a bridge

that had been closed off to accommodate the demonstration, then refused to

leave. And at a rally in January, about 50 demonstrators blocked a street

near the Capitol, but they were dispersed without arrests.

The protesters gathered earlier Saturday near the White House in Lafayette

Park with signs saying "End the war now" and calling for President Bush's

impeachment. The rally was organized by the ANSWER Coalition and other

groups.

Organizers estimated that nearly 100,000 people attended the rally and

march. That number could not be confirmed; police did not give their own

estimate. A permit for the march obtained in advance by the ANSWER Coalition

had projected 10,000.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan told the crowd is was time to be assertive.

"It's time to lay our bodies on the line and say we've had enough," she

said. "It's time to shut this city down."

About 13 blocks away, nearly 1,000 counterprotesters gathered near the

Washington Monument, frequently erupting in chants of "U-S-A" and waving

American flags.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson, speaking from a stage to

crowds clad in camouflage, American flag bandanas and Harley Davidson

jackets, said he wanted to send three messages.

"Congress, quit playing games with our troops. Terrorists, we will find you

and kill you," he said. "And to our troops, we're here for you, and we

support you."