Peace Mom arrested in White House protest

More than 400 anti-war demonstrators including Cindy Sheehan were arrested on Monday during protests at the White House and the Pentagon. Mrs. Sheehan, who spured the anti-war movement, and hundreds of others, marched along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. At the front of the White House, dozens sat on the sidewalk, knowing that they would be arrested, and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now." Others grabbed hold of the iron fence along the White House front lawn and plastered signs on it, one of which read "Remember the Dead." Dozens of others stood in support behind a police barricade about 20 feet from the sidewalk. Police warned the sidewalk protesters three times that they were breaking the law by not moving along. Then police began making arrests. By the end of the protest, police had arrested about 370 people. Several hours earlier, outside the Pentagon, police had arrested 41 anti-war demonstrators who had blocked entrances to the Pentagon metro and bus stops, reports Washington Times.

Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year. She attracted worldwide attention last month with her 26-day vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch.

Sheehan was among several hundred demonstrators who marched around the White House on Monday and then stopped in front and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now!"

The demonstration is part of a broader anti-war effort on Capitol Hill organized by United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella group. Representatives from anti-war groups were meeting Monday with members of Congress to urge them to work to end the war and bring home the troops.

The protest following a massive demonstration Saturday on the National Mall that drew a crowd of 100,000 or more, the largest such gathering in the capital since the war began in March 2003.

On Sunday, a rally supporting the war drew roughly 500 participants. Speakers included veterans of World War II and the war in Iraq, as well as family members of soldiers killed in Iraq, informs USA Today.

Photo: the AP