Anti War Protesters Block Entrance to Sen. Edwards Office, Fail to Get Arrested (Snicker, Snicker)

Daily Tar Heel ^ | February 7, 2003 | Gillian Bolsover

[ewing]

Protesters settled in front of Democratic United States Senator John Edwards Raleigh office awaiting arrest for their efforts to make a statement that the Senator has not gone far enough to oppose a war with Iraq.

But despite the fact that the protestors were breaking the law by blocking an entrance into a public building, the police on site chose not to intervene.

Three participating University of North Carolina students Anna Carson Dewitt and Sascha Bollag, both freshman and senior Scott O' Day said they were disappointed when the police refused to arrest them.

All three have prior arrest for civil disobedience.

[ewing]

The cops probably didn't want to come near the B.O.!

[lafroste]

Now that's funny. Wish I had known sooner, maybe I could have found time to go down there and ridicule them in person. What marroons!

[ewing]

Hold muh non used razor alert

[FormerLib]

Dealing with demented fools is a job for Social Services anyway.

[mhking]

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!

[ewing]

Maybe they could have had some mental health professionals come down for some pre admission counseling.

[Madame Dufarge]

"We were showing that we were willing to sacrifice our time and ultimately ourselves."

Sounds like a deal to me.

It's not too late to catch that bus to Baghdad.

[Blood of Tyrants]

The women should be rounded up by the dog catcher.

[ewing]

Another recruit for the human shield brigade!

[Constitution Day]

Wish I had known sooner, maybe I could have found time to go down there and ridicule them in person.

Hope you'll join us here!

NC FREEPERS: Patriot Rally, Feb 15th, Support Our Troops

[Howlin]

Friday, February 7, 2003 6:44AM EST
Antiwar protesters arrested at Edwards' local office


By MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE, Staff Writer

RALEIGH -- Eight antiwar protesters were arrested Thursday afternoon at U.S. Sen. John Edwards' presidential campaign headquarters on Lake Boone Trail and released on their own recognizance.

A group of about 24 protesters arrived at the office across Lake Boone Trail from Rex Healthcare at 2 p.m. toting a 20-foot banner and an inflatable tube that exhorted Edwards to stop any war with Iraq. While a few protesters lingered outside in the freezing rain, about 15 headed up to his third-floor office. Some had tried to present antiwar statements to Edwards at his Fayetteville Street Mall office in the past and were turned away. This time, they managed to slip past the locked door and present Edwards' campaign staff with a statement, which they also read aloud.

"Obviously we're opposed to war, and we were trying to use civil disobedience to influence his opinion," said Patrick O'Neill, an antiwar activist from Garner.

O'Neill said campaign staff were "cordial" but asked the group to leave after they spotted a video camera. Eight sat down, including UNC-Chapel Hill anthropology professor Catherine Lutz, and staff called Raleigh police. Police charged the group with second-degree trespass and took them to the Wake County jail. They were released by 6:30 p.m.

O'Neill said the protest was timed to coincide with Edwards' appearance on "Hardball with Chris Matthews," scheduled to air live from N.C. Central University in Durham at 9 p.m. Thursday.

O'Neill said the group managed to get its point across.

"We just wanted to tell him what the consequences of war are," he said.

[Howlin]

Whoops:

Friday, February 7, 2003 6:44AM EST
Antiwar protesters arrested at Edwards' local office

Somebody's lying.

[ewing]

If at first you don't succed...at least they get credit for being persistent and following through to a goal!

[finnman69]

The way to deal with them is to call the janitorial staff and disenfect the entrance by pouring half a gallon of ammonia out around them.

It works like a charm in NYC getting smelly homeless slimeballs out of doorways.

[Howlin]

February 07, 2003


2 Students Arrested at War Protest

Staff & Wire Reports

February 07, 2003


RALEIGH -- Eight anti-war protesters were arrested at Sen. John Edwards' presidential campaign office Thursday after they refused to leave.

The protesters -- including two UNC-Chapel Hill students and a University professor -- were marched out of the office building in handcuffs while supporters applauded and shouted anti-war slogans.

"We wanted to send a strong message to Senator Edwards that we disapprove of the war," said Scott O'Day, a UNC-CH junior who was arrested at the protest.

University freshman Anna Carson-Dewitt, who also was arrested, said she too was compelled to exercise her rights and to ask Edwards to take a stand against war. "Dissent is the most important part of democracy because it means you're participating in your government."

Edwards was not in the office when the protesters were arrested.

At a taping Thursday night of the MSNBC news talk show "Hardball" at N.C. Central University, Edwards expressed his support for military action in Iraq but acknowledged alternative viewpoints.

"You have every right to protest. I support the right to protest," he said.

About 25 protesters came to Edwards' office on Thursday. Those who refused to leave were charged with second-degree trespassing and released, a Wake County official said.

Phil Jones, a spokesman for the group, said the opponents of a possible war with Iraq have tried to meet with Edwards for nearly a year and have been rebuffed.

Edwards, a Democrat making a bid for the presidency, has voted to support military action against Iraq.

"We're running out of time," Jones said. "This war is right on us."

UNC-CH anthropology Professor Catherine Lutz, who also was arrested, said some participants protested because war is immoral, others because it is illegal and still others because it is politically and strategically inept.

All were willing to risk arrest for their beliefs, she said.

Lutz said she thinks it was imperative that citizens opposed to war demand their leaders' attention. "That they could ignore this is mind-boggling."

[cgbg]

If Edwards had met with them The Empty Suit would have encountered The Empty Brains. ;-)

Probably these idiots were just tired of this cold winter and wanted to spend a month or two at Gitmo. ;-)

The thought of these jokers explaining their philosophy of non-violence to hardened DC criminal cellmates would be worth the price of admission. ;-)

[areafiftyone]

Are these the same guys as yesterday's post Here? Eight War Protestors Arrested at Edward's Office

[ewing]

The Daily Tar Heel needs to check their reportage.. Scott O'Day was a senior in the UNC paper when he didn't get arrested this morning and now he is a junior when he got arrested by the cops later!

Probably trying to score with the Freshman girls...

[Howlin]

Here is the rest of the article at the top of this thread:

O'Day said the police response undermined the protest.

"I am disappointed that the police de-escalated the situation to the point that we were not able to continue with the protest," he said. "We were more or less sure that we would be arrested, but the police weren't cooperating."

But Bollag said that despite intentionally breaking the law, he and other participants tried not to cause many problems.

"We linked arms across the entrance (to Edwards' office) but didn't block entry," he said. "Nine people lay in front of the steps (of Edward's office) as an act of civil disobedience."

Bollag said protest organizers also arranged for music and marches to attract attention.

About 300 people participated in a die-in, playing the parts of victims and mourners of a bombing, on Fayetteville Street Mall -- which faces Edwards' office -- to send a firm message to Edwards. "There were loud noises, cacophony, just like a bombing would be," Bollag said.

Chris Kromm, the event's media liaison, said he thought the protesters got the message through to Edwards. "Our primary goal wasn't to be arrested."

But Andrew Perrin, a UNC professor of sociology, said protesters likely viewed Tuesday's action as unsuccessful because they were not arrested.

"Failure to arrest is not an event. Edwards probably wants to avoid allowing (the protest) to become a symbol," he said. "The protesters have to be pretty disappointed that the police did not feel the issue was as important as it is to them."

Perrin said people choose civil disobedience because it harks back to the successful civil rights movement.

He added that breaking the law raises the stakes and can be effective. "The courses of wars have been altered by civil disobedience."

O'Day said he consistently chooses civil disobedience because of the powerful message it sends. "It is one of the most personally involving forms of protest," he said. "We were showing that we were willing to sacrifice our time and ultimately ourselves."

Another demonstration is planned for Feb. 15, and although the nature of the action is undecided, Bollag, Carson-Dewitt and O'Day said it is likely to be more dramatic to guarantee arrests.

"We were expecting to be arrested," Bollag said. "We thought our actions today would provoke people.

"If one action does not provoke arrest, we will step it up and step it up until we provoke arrest."

__________________________________________

Did any of you all see or hear anything about 300 protesters downtown yesterday?

[ewing]

Gitmo would be a fine Spring break for these skulls of mush.