More than a dozen police officers converged at a corner of Lafayette Square yesterday, bringing with them a horse and extra handcuffs.Read the whole thing.
Their target: a handful of demonstrators who had gathered to post two signs on an electrical box advertising a protest march Sept. 15 against the Iraq war.
During a clash that drew a crowd during lunchtime, two demonstrators, including an Iraq war veteran and the mother of another veteran, were arrested on charges of defacing public property. Police charged a third protester with impeding an officer.
"It was a case of extreme police overreaction," said Brian Becker, a protest organizer.
But Lt. Phil Beck of the U.S. Park Police said the officers took action only after the demonstrators ignored a command to remove a table and stop posting the signs.
The demonstrators, members of the antiwar Answer Coalition, have been in an ongoing dispute with the District and Park Service over their right to post signs in public places.
The D.C. government has fined the coalition about $20,000 for posting signs, and the Park Service has asked the group to remove them.
The coalition countered by filing a lawsuit challenging the District's regulations. The suit is pending.
The group assembled for a news conference yesterday at Lafayette Square to promise to put up more posters, regardless of possible sanctions. Within minutes, the pledge was tested. An officer approached and asked whether the demonstrators had a permit for their gathering.
I think the police handled the situation well. Perhaps International ANSWER cadres think they're proponents of civil disobedience in the image of Martin Luther King. I think they're pure revolutionary scum intent on the destruction of the republic.
Spree over at Wake Up America has some more details on such antiwar activity:
They can claim to be peace activist all they want, but they break the law and all they are are criminals.But check out Ms. Libby's post at The Impolitic blog defending the ANSWER lawlessness and denouncing "police state" tactics.
They deface property like these people, they spray paint the Capitol building as they did back in January, destroying public property, they deface our Veterans Memorials, and yet they claim to be "peace activists".
Yeah Right.
They seem to think they don't have to obey the law. They seem to think they can get away with doing anything they want and do not have to follow the rules.
Well guess what? They can't.
I am glad they got arrested, if they cannot get the proper permits, then they shouldn't be allowed to protest.
Everyone else follows the law in order to hold rallies and protests, they are no better than anyone else and it is time they learned this.
As readers here know well, I've been denouncing The Impolitic for its rabid anti-American denunciations of the administration and our trooops. Ms. Libby's defense here of an organization whose stated purpose is to bring down the government of the United States further demonstrates the true colors of The Impolitic's blog project.
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