WASHINGTON - Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who became a leader of the anti-war movement following her son's death in Iraq, was arrested Monday along with dozens of others protesting outside the White House.
Sheehan, carrying a photo of her son in his Army uniform, was among hundreds of protesters who marched around the White House and then down the two-block pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. When they reached the front of the White House, dozens sat down — knowing they would be arrested — and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now!"
Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests. One man climbed over the White House fence and was quickly subdued by Secret Service agents.
Sheehan, 48, was the first taken into custody. She smiled as she was carried to the curb, then stood up and walked to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching."
About 50 people were arrested in the first hour, with dozens of others waiting to be taken away. All cooperated with police.
Sgt. Scott Fear, spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, said they would be charged with demonstrating without a permit, which is a misdemeanor.
Park Police Sgt. L.J. McNally said Sheehan and the others would be taken to a processing center where they would be fingerprinted and photographed, then given a ticket and released. The process would take several hours, he said.
Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year. She attracted worldwide attention last month with her 26-day vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch.
The demonstration is part of a broader anti-war effort on Capitol Hill organized by United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella group. Representatives from anti-war groups were meeting Monday with members of Congress to urge them to work to end the war and bring home the troops.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush is "very much aware" of the protesters and "recognizes that there are differences of opinion" on Iraq.
"It's the right of the American people to peacefully express their views. And that's what you're seeing here in Washington, D.C.," McClellan said. "They're well-intentioned, but the president strongly believes that withdrawing ... would make us less safe and make the world more dangerous."
The protest Monday followed a massive demonstration Saturday on the National Mall that drew a crowd of 100,000 or more, the largest such gathering in the capital since the war began in March 2003.
On Sunday, a rally supporting the war drew roughly 500 participants. Speakers included veterans of World War II and the war in Iraq, as well as family members of soldiers killed in Iraq.
"I would like to say to Cindy Sheehan and her supporters: Don't be a group of unthinking lemmings," said Mitzy Kenny of Ridgeley, W.Va., whose husband died in Iraq last year. She said the anti-war demonstrations "can affect the war in a really negative way. It gives the enemy hope."
Umm..Ms. Kenny..it's not the anti-war demonstrations that gives the enemy hope...it's the fact that we have G.W. Bush as our president that gives the enemy hope..
Posted by lougagliardi at September 26, 2005 04:11 PM | TrackBackI like what she's been doing, and I'm all for anti-war protesting, and I'm glad she finally got to realizing that if she shut up she'd be more affective and effective.
She's almost a martyr, but not really. It's very "Murder in the Cathedral," in that if you expect to be a martyr and embrace it, you're no longer a martyr.
Like I said, though...any kind of anti-war protest is ok with me.
Posted by: Kevin McGinnis at September 26, 2005 11:09 PMThere's a difference between support for our troops and support for the war.
I support the troops because they are doing merely what they are ordered to do. I do not support the war because of the coverups that took place.
For example, we went to war because 'Al-Queda and Osama bin Laden had ties with Saddam Hussien.' Our very same government that said that then MONTHS LATER came out and said there were no such ties.
We also said Iraq had WMDs. the government, MONTHS LATER said there was none, as did the United Nations.
Bush gives our "enemies" hope because, to paraphrase Mr. Hyde from the game, Van Helsing, "his just a puppet of Dick Cheney..a marionette on a string!"
Posted by: Lou Gagliardi at September 26, 2005 07:45 PMThe enemy does not get hope from GW being our president because they know if GW is our president there will be war. He will stop for nothing, he will finish the job, and we will be free from terror one day. The one thing that gives the enemy hope is that our nation is divided and we have these antiwar rallies. What kind of support is that????? support out troops!
Posted by: michelle koss at September 26, 2005 05:28 PM