Posted on 11/12/2005 1:28:26 PM PST by radar101
Five veterans were arrested and taken to jail Thursday night after ignoring police orders not to touch flags planted by an anti-war group.
The five were charged with criminal trespass after they attempted to pull up the 2,000 white flags in Waterville, Maine's Veterans Memorial Park. The flags represented the 2,000 U.S. soldiers killed in the war in Iraq.
The group Waterville Area Bridges for Peace and Justice called the display an important visual reminder of the lives lost.
Waterville Police Chief John Morris, who is a Vietnam veteran himself, said the group had a legal permit to place the flags in the public park.
The veterans said the flags were planted in "sacred ground."
Morris said, "I spoke to them as a veteran and suggested that legitimate veterans' organizations do not resort to civil disobedience to make their point. I warned them, very carefully, that they were not allowed to do destructive behavior on these flags. If they did, we would have to ask them to leave the park. If they refused to leave the park then we'd have to arrest them, and that's what happened."
The five veterans were booked at police headquarters and released after paying $40 to the bail commissioner.
What is it with peace activists and white flags? Oh, right.
The Vets have enough brains to know those flags were not displayed to honor the dead, too bad the authorities aren't as bright. This is an outrage. The so called Peace advocates are almost as violent as the enemy is.
Allowing anti-war activists to post flags in a Veteran's Memorial is like allowing the KKK to post crosses at a Martin Luther King memorial.
Free speech, right?
That is hallowed ground and this vet would have joined them in removing the white flags.
Disagree. They were being provocative (the commies). If they wanted to honor the war dead they would have planted American flags.
Damn I hate to hear stuff like this.
As former Law Enforcement, the most important thing you can have is judgement to know when NOT to arrest, such as an expectant father at 100 mph, going to hospital, with wife giving birth.
This called for--at the most--an explanation and a "verbal warning".
I'll reimburse any of them the $40 fine, and any other future fines they may end up with for this Patriotic behavior. :)
"A recent MSNBC/Wall Street Journal poll revealed 57% of Americans agree with the Kerry Plan: begin surrender proceedings to the terrorists in Iraq as soon as possible and abandon the people of Iraq to whatever grim fate awaits the poor schmucks."
If you have the chance, read the whole piece. It's very good.
Yet again we owe a debt of gratitute to these veterans, this time for trying to protect the memory and honor of the dead.
Legit? Heaven help us, but it seems to me placing 2,000 symbols of surrender in a Veterans park should be the real crime.
Let me guess. You're French?
LOL!
WHITE FLAGS in a Veteran's Memorial Park??? Who the hell is the nimrod who issued a permit for THAT? I sense a "fighting words" defense and no jury I ever sit on would convict those Vets. Jeeeeeeeeez. This from the same state where teachers were bad-mouthing newly deployed moms and dads to their children? What ever became of that?
The park is dedicated to the memory of Veterans. I consider that hallowed and it's okay with me if you don't.
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