Antiwar Protests Spring Up in D.C.
Nearly 30 Arrested At Lafayette Square

By Manny Fernandez
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 20, 2003; Page A11

Protesters in Washington took their opposition to war with Iraq to Capitol Hill, the White House and Dupont Circle yesterday, in a series of hastily planned actions that led to nearly 30 arrests and the closing of Lafayette Square.

Yesterday's protests came in a rush of activity in response to the 48-hour ultimatum issued Monday by President Bush to Saddam Hussein. The events were largely uncoordinated among the various antiwar groups, although several ended up at the White House. But activists went into overdrive last night, organizing emergency meetings to determine where and when to protest the outbreak of war and calling for more people to get arrested to raise the profile of the demonstrations.

Jason Kafoury, 24, an organizer with United for Peace and Justice, said, "We're having to make rapid decisions . . . for when the war begins."

Kafoury said most local and national groups would fine-tune plans at a meeting last night at a Mount Pleasant church. "Our goal," he said, "is to demonstrate the massive opposition to this war by showing the hundreds and hundreds of events that are rapidly and organically sprouting up everywhere."

About noon, a few hundred protesters from various groups converged on Lafayette Square across from the White House in separately coordinated rallies. Activists, many from Catholics for a Peaceful End to War and Terrorism, were arrested after they climbed over a barricade and knelt on Pennsylvania Avenue, newly closed to pedestrians as part of stepped-up security in the District.

Young activists with the antiwar coalition International ANSWER chanted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, we won't kill for Texaco!" An office worker who was on lunch break and not affiliated with any group held a sign that declared, "Not in my name."

In the morning, protesters slathered with fake blood and wearing bandages to symbolize Iraqi casualties, took their antiwar message to the Rayburn and Longworth House office buildings. About 5:30 p.m., about 250 activists, some dressed as casualties and carrying mock coffins, marched from Dupont Circle to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's home in Kalorama in a protest primarily organized by Code Pink: Women for Peace.

"Donald, come get this casket," organizer Medea Benjamin shouted at a brown brick home on Kalorama Road NW. "How can you sleep at night, when you know this war is illegal, unnecessary and unjust?" One protester was arrested in the evening march.

Earlier, Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a lawyer and protest organizer, said: "It's a very terrifying moment for everyone. It's terrifying for the people of Iraq . . . and for people in the United States. There is a recognition that George Bush is escalating a cycle of violence."

Organizers said the turnout at Lafayette Square was not the result of a single plan. It stemmed from the various groups being assembled in a flurry of last-minute phone calls and e-mails.

U.S. Park Police temporarily closed Lafayette Square less than an hour after protesters began gathering about noon. Sgt. Scott Fear, a spokesman, said the decision was made after the demonstrations grew large. At the request of the Secret Service, the National Park Service has denied all permits for large demonstrations in the square following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Organized groups of fewer than 25 people are allowed to demonstrate there without a permit.

Protesters were allowed to demonstrate inside the square and along the barricades lining H Street NW. "We're going to try and work with these people," Fear said. He said 28 were arrested, all but one for crossing a police line, a misdemeanor, after they climbed over Pennsylvania Avenue barricades and knelt on the pavement. The one was arrested for being in a closed area.

The day that war breaks out, or the day after, more than 500 protests are planned across the United States, organizers said. Many of the demonstrations are being coordinated by United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of more than 250 activist groups.

Washington area protesters are planning a demonstration at Eastern Market at 7 a.m. today and a bike ride from Dupont Circle during the morning rush hour. Plans were also in the works for demonstrations at the White House during the day and for student walkouts, including some at District and Montgomery County schools.

Staff writer Sylvia Moreno contributed to this report.