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More than 190 arrested at D.C. protest

(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-16 13:43

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.

Antiwar demonstrators dressed as US President George W. Bush (R) and Vice
President Dick Cheney rally calling for an end to the war in Iraq in
Washington, September 15, 2007. [Reuters]

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."

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