[So Cal Rocket]

I hope our Fellow Freepers stay safe out there... the Protest Warriors ran into a little trouble a few minutes ago:

12:12 p.m. ET
Not So Peaceful Peace Rally
Hundreds of people gathered at both ends of Meridian Hill Park in Northwest Washington for a peace rally sponsored by the D.C Antiwar Network.

But there were interlopers: Thirteen members of ProtestWarror, supporting the Bush administration and its policies in Iraq. When the Bush supporters arrived, about 20 black-clad, self-described anarchists emerged from the crowd, shouting profanity and epithets and demanding that they leave the peace rally.

When the Bush supporters refused to leave, the anarchists tore the sign out of the Bush supporters' hands and stomped on them. When ProtestWarrior leader Gil Kobrin objected, several male anarchists knocked him to the ground, kicking him in the back and punching him. Other anarchists punched and shoved Kobrin's 12 colleagues.

After D.C. Antiwar Network members broke up the fight, the Bush supporters heeded their order to leave the park. Kobrin then called D.C. police, who are now guarding them at the entrance of the park as they hold up their pro-war signs. "We're going to hang tight," Kobrin said. "We're expressing our freedom of speech just as they are expressing theirs." --Robert MacMillan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/administration/inauguration05/blog/day_2.html

[dstarr]

Those peaceful persons are full of so much hate and vitriol. It would seem that someone could have had charges filed against the unwashed persons who did the kicking and punching. I'm glad the PWs seem to have recovered.

[Wheee The People]

We've got more guns than they do...

[AppyPappy]

20 black-clad, self-described anarchists

The Gestapo.

[RepubMommy]

But there were interlopers: Thirteen members of ProtestWarror, supporting the Bush administration and its policies in Iraq. When the Bush supporters arrived, about 20 black-clad, self-described anarchists emerged from the crowd, shouting profanity and epithets and demanding that they leave the peace rally. When the Bush supporters refused to leave, the anarchists tore the sign out of the Bush supporters' hands and stomped on them. When ProtestWarrior leader Gil Kobrin objected, several male anarchists knocked him to the ground, kicking him in the back and punching him. Other anarchists punched and shoved Kobrin's 12 colleagues. After D.C. Antiwar Network members broke up the fight, the Bush supporters heeded their order to leave the park. Kobrin then called D.C. police, who are now guarding them at the entrance of the park as they hold up their pro-war signs. "We're going to hang tight," Kobrin said. "We're expressing our freedom of speech just as they are expressing theirs." --Robert MacMillan

I'm unsure if this was the same incident I saw, or a different one. I was standing outside of the checkpoint near the American Sector (waited 2 full hours to get in) and everyone was fine and dandy, some inanne banter going on between the 2 sides, when all of a sudden the crowd on the right side of me started pushing in, The Anrachists came out of nowhere and started throwing iceballs into the crowd and had clubs. I couldn't see too well because I was in the crowd so deep, but it was a very frightening experience, because we were either a) going to get trampled or b) get hit with God knows what this idiots were throwing. There was a poor mother next to me who had two small children and she was just holding them saying, "God, please let this be over soon." What a disgusting display. Anyway, the cops came and broke it up, and arrested a few on them and then seperated the crowd on opposite sides of the street some on motorcycles, some had on full riot gear. I don't know if the people on the further side of the side from the checkpoint ever actually got in. I actually was standing with Protest Warrior for a while because he planned on going to the American Sector and we figured we would just all go in together, but I don't know what happened to him after the chaos.