Breaking news from Saturday's Anti-War protests
6:00am: U.S. CENTCOM Commander Gen. Tommy Franks held a press conference in Doha, Qatar where British reporters questioned the "shock and awe" tactic of the U.S. military. Nobody asked about civilian casualties. According to the International Red Cross in Baghdad, about 200 people have been hospitalized.
12:00pm: Clarendon Metro Station, Arlington - A couple dozen Northern Virginians gathered Saturday at the Clarendon Metro station in Arlington to express their opposition to the war in Iraq. They held banners and signs urging the Bush Administration to bring U.S. troops home from the Middle East and handed flyers to passers-by as drivers honked and cheered in support. This was the fourth straight weekend that the group, Northern Virginians for Peace, held the Clarendon rally. "We're trying to make a presence in Northern Virginia," said an activist who would identify himself only as Todd. He has relatives who work for the Pentagon, he said, and he doesn't want to create family tensions. "We want people to know it's not just a mass in D.C. It's local people in Northern Virginia who feel this way." As he spoke, a man in black spandex pants who had been standing with the protesters, started to leave, saying: "I'm thankful to you. If I didn't have to pick up my son I'd stay longer." "Northern Virginia is where the CIA is, where the Pentagon is," said the coordinator for Saturday's vigil. "I was frankly a little nervous," about holding a vigil the day after the war started he acknowledged. But, he added, "We're getting a very positive response." A woman making her way to the Metro stopped to pick up a copy of On Tap. Todd handed her a flyer. "I'm from Minnesota but I support what you're doing," she said. "Well you can still take a flyer." "OK."
12:30pm: Approximately 350 protesters in front of the Treasury building have broken the barricades and are advancing to Lafayette Park, chanting "Bush's war has got to go."
12:34pm: Another group of marchers at Madison, headed by 5-6 masked people with black flags, led a contingent back through the barricades into Lafayette Park.
12:42pm: Brian Becker of International ANSWER held a discussion with police and negotiated that the police would try to "clear out the park."
1:03pm: 22 Mounted police and Park Police are at the west boundary of Lafayette Park. It looks like they're beginning to move in toward protesters.
1:06pm: The march is proceeding from Lafayette Park. Protesters are surrounded by mounted police.
Police sealed Lafayette Park but left an opening for people to leave. Twenty to thirty protesters didn't leave immediately. At first nothing happened, but then the police told them to leave as the park was closed for the day. Lafayette had been closed since the start of the war, and today was the first time it was open. It is unclear what policy the park police was applying for today's actions.
1:08pm: People are moving into the street and blocking traffic at 15th and H St NW.
1:10pm: A motorcycle officer is hitting people at 15th and H.
1:13pm: The march is approaching Farragut Park.
1:22pm: Multiple marches are converging into Thomas Circle at 14th St, with the crowd estimated at 1,000. Protesters have taken 14th street and are proceeding up the street against traffic.
1:40pm: The march on 15th and Rhode Island NW is getting stopped by police. We are not sure if this the same march that started from Lafayette Park. A former government contractor from Reston, Va. who quit his job in protest reported that officers penned in the protesters.
2:02pm: A metrobus has been dispatched for mass arrest at 15th and Rhode Island.
2:12pm: DC Police have announced that they will lead the march from 15th and Rhode Island.
2:27pm: The march on 15th and Rhode Island is now going up 14th Street to join the rest of the protesters.
3:10pm: A procession of 2,000 is heading to 18th and Columbia NW.
3:27pm: When the procession reached 18th and Columbia, the crowd began to disperse. Protesters are blocking 18th and 16th Streets. Abusive police behavior and possible arrests have been reported at 18th and California.
3:45pm: Report from a Madhatters IMC (Danbury, CT) reporter on a bicycle: The march is going south on 16th St NW. There are about 350 people, some of which have joined at various points in the city. The police are determining the route by blocking all exits but one. A legal observer was watching the march on 18th, and a police officer pulled her off her bike and arrested her. She was doing nothing but observing. One person thought that it might be because the legal observer is notorious for talking back and acting unafraid of the police during earlier actions in DC. Other protesters surrounded the officer and legal observer, and they were hit with batons. The remaining legal observers got the badge numbers of the officers in the incident. They are Metro Police.
The march is now on 16th and L Sts NW. They are turning, or getting turned, past the Hilton. The police are escorting them somewhere. The demonstrators are spirited and chanting, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Bush's war has got to go!" and "This racist war has got to go!" While in Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan, they chanted in Spanish and received support from bystanders, many thumbs up and cheers. A lot of people have joined this roving march.
3:48pm: The march is close to 16th and I St NW. There are a lot of police at I St. People are cheering and making noise at H St. The march is returning to Lafayette Park. Motorcycle police are blocking 16th and H, so the demonstrators are forced to go east on H St. Twenty mounted riot police are waiting at Lafayette Park. Fifty others are on foot and in riot gear. These officers appear to be Park Police, while it had been Metro Police escorting the marchers through the city. People are stopping at the north end of Lafayette, chanting, "The people united will stop this war." The west end and east end of the march are blocked off, and protesters might be blocked in.
3:50pm: The march is at the north end of Lafayette Park. A protester tells the DC IMC that she's there not just to protest the war, but because she doesn't believe the story from the government about who was responsible for 9/11, and she refuses to be ruled by fear. A medic says that they are not getting blocked in. People are coming and going via 16th St. There are 300 people, and no one is currently being harassed. A medic reports that there were two arrests at 18th St.
4:00pm: Several protesters confront two marchers, one of whom is holding a sign that says "Show your tits for peace." They ask the man to take down his sign. He refuses. A group of about 10 gather around him, chanting. "Cops or nazis!" "Go home!"
6:11pm: From CNN news: Two military camps in Kuwait have been attacked in what appears to be a terrorist attack. Ten soldiers are reported wounded, eight very seriously. The unknown assailants tried to kill the camp commander of the 101st Airborne Division in Kuwait. It appears to be officer's tents that were targeted.
6:38pm: A group of about 60 people are lying in the intersection in front of Lafayette Square in the formation of a peace sign. Police officers moved in and started negotiating with the National Lawyers' Guild. The police are warning that the protesters must disperse or face arrest. The protesters stood up and formed a circle. They do not appear likely to disperse. The police are in the process of surrounding the group.
7:50pm: About seven persons are being voluntarily arrested in front of Lafayette Square, according to an observer from the National Lawyers' Guild. Police gave the order for people to clear the intersection of H and 16th streets. People dispersed and then about 10 people ran back into the middle of the intersection in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. It is not clear yet where they are being taken but one person who was among those arrested during Friday's action suggested they may have been taken to the police training center in Anacostia. About 50 to 100 people are on the sidewalk holding candles, singing John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance." Some say they plan to spend the night on the sidewalk. The group on the sidewalk is described as diverse, consisting of both younger people and seniors. It appears that there will be no more arrests. Another woman, reportedly a lawyer with the National Lawyers' Guild, was also arrested during today's march. According to reports, she was pulled from her bicycle and clubbed by officers.
7:06- Police vans and paddy wagons arrive on the scene at Lafayette Square and H Street.
7:03- The permit for protestors expires at 7:30pm. The police will then give one warning. Some protesters plan to be arrested. Others plan to stay all night on the sidewalk. The police are blocking H Street on both sides of protesters with motorcycles, white vans, bicycles. There are officers in riot gear. A group of women are holding a candlelight vigil. Behind them are officers in riot gear. A lot of people have left but approximately 100 people remain.
8:38pm: MSNBC reports that a U.S soldier is in custody for the 101st attack. The attack took place at Camp Pennsylvania. No word yet on why the attack took place.
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