DANIEL ELLSBERG FINED

Daniel Ellsberg, who was arrested in April during a protest at CIA headquarters that impeded access to the agency, was fined $50 yesterday by a Fairfax County judge for "obstructing free passage."

Ellsberg, the antiwar activist who, as a Pentagon analyst, leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press, did not make an appearance in General District Court but entered a plea of no contest through his attorney, Robert O'Brien.

O'Brien said Ellsberg decided on the plea because "he didn't feel that the general district court would give him an adequate opportunity to present his defense." Ellsberg is considering an appeal to the Circuit Court, O'Brien said.

During the protest, hundreds of people were arrested at three CIA gates, where demonstrators were protesting U.S. polices in Central America and South Africa.

Most have pleaded guilty or no contest to the misdemeanor obstruction charge and been fined $50 to $100.

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