Protesters Arrested Near Bush's Ranch

 

 

 

 

 

 

War protester Dede Miller, the sister of Cindy Sheehan, is arrested Wednesday for camping along a roadside in Crawford, Texas

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Nov. 23: A dozen anti-war protesters have been arrested near President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. NBC’s Rosiland Jordon has the details.

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Protesters Arrested Near Bush's Ranch
- By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, November 23, 2005

(11-23) 17:23 PST Crawford, Texas (AP) --

A dozen war protesters including Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, were arrested Wednesday for setting up camp near President Bush's ranch in defiance of new local bans on roadside camping and parking.

About four hours after the group pitched six tents and huddled in sleeping bags and blankets, McLennan County sheriff's deputies arrested them for criminal trespassing. Many in the group held up signs, including one that said "Give me liberty or give me a ditch."

A dozen or so other demonstrators left the public right of way after deputies warned them they would be arrested.

The protest was set to coincide with Bush's Thanksgiving ranch visit.

The arrests were made by more than two dozen deputies who calmly approached the demonstrators in their tents and asked if they wanted to walk out on their own or be carried. Two chose to be carried. They were to be taken to jail for booking.

Ellsberg, the former Defense Department official who leaked the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam war, estimated it was his 70th arrest for various protests since the 1970s.

"Those of us who finally saw through the Vietnam war saw through this war, and all the actions that were necessary to end the Vietnam war will be necessary here," Ellsberg said Wednesday before his arrest. "I think the American people will get us outof this (war)."

Ellsberg became famous for his release of the secret documents, which indicated the government had deceived the public about whether the Vietnam war could be won and the extent of casualties.

Also arrested Wednesday was Ann Wright, who resigned her post as a senior diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia in 2003 in protest of the war with Iraq.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan wasn't among the protesters Wednesday because of a family emergency in California, but she planned to be at the camp later in the week.

"We are proud to be here," Dede Miller, Sheehan's sister, said hours before her arrest as she huddled in a blanketat the campsite. "This is just so important. What we did in August really moved us forward, and this is just a continuation of it."

In August, hundreds of demonstrators camped off the road during a 26-day protest led by Sheehan, whose 24-year-old soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq last year. But a month later, county commissioners banned camping in any county ditch and parking within 7 miles of the ranch, citing safety and traffic congestion issues.

Earlier this week, three demonstrators filed a federal lawsuit against McLennan County over the two local bans.

During the last several weeks of their summer protest, the activists had camped on a private 1-acre lot that a sympathetic landowner let them use. That land is about a mile from Bush's ranch.

 

Daniel Ellsburg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, is arrested at the site of the original "Camp Casey" near President Bush's ranch on Wednesday. Associated Press photo by Evan Vucci

Anti-war protester Hiram Myers, 74, of Edmond, Okla., is arrested by McLennan County Sheriffs after camping in a county ditch, Wednesday,, in Crawford, Texas. A dozen were arrested Wednesday for setting up camp near President George W. Bush's ranch in defiance of new local bans on roadside camping and parking. Associated Press photo by Matt Slocum

An anti-war protester is carried away by McLennan County sheriff deputies after being arrested near President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, on Wednesday. A dozen were arrested for criminal trespassing as they demonstrated against the president's stance on troops in Iraq. Reuters photo by Jim Young

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 Arrests Begin As Protesters Challenge New Ordinances On Two Fronts

While three war protesters headed to court Wednesday to challenge new McLennan County ordinances banning roadside camping and restricting parking in a large area around the Presidents Central Texas ranch, others pitched tents on a roadside to court arrest and they succeeded.

About a dozen protesters arrived before daybreak Wednesday to pitch tents alongside a rural road near Crawford in defiance of a new county ordinance that bars temporary structures in any county ditch.

A McLennan County deputy sheriff warned the protesters that the tents violated the ordinance, but after the protesters continued to defy the restriction, deputies began to make arrests.

About a dozen protesters were arrested, largely without incident, although two had to be carried by deputies.

They were taken to the McLennan County jail.

Cindy Sheehan, the California woman whose roadside vigil in August attracted international attention, was not there, but was expected to join the group by the end of the week after being delayed by a family emergency.

Meanwhile Texas Civil Rights Project attorneys headed to federal court in Waco to seek a temporary restraining order barring the county from enforcing the new ordinances.

President and Mrs. Bush arrived Tuesday evening in Waco on their first trip to their ranch since Hurricane Katrina struck in August.

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Protesters Gather Again Near Bush's Ranch

By Angela K. Brown / Associated Press

CRAWFORD, Texas - More than a dozen war protesters returned to a roadside near President Bush's ranch before dawn Wednesday, defying two new local bans on roadside camping and parking.

About an hour after the group pitched tents and huddled in sleeping bags and blankets, a McLennan County sheriff's deputy arrived and warned the group to leave or face arrest.

Protester and former U.S. diplomat Ann Wright told the deputy that most of the group would stay because they believed the bans restrict their free-speech rights. The deputy said the group would have two more warnings before he started making arrests.

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan wasn't among the protesters Wednesday because of a family emergency in California, but she planned to arrive at the camp later in the week. The protest was set to coincide with Bush's Thanksgiving ranch visit.

"We are proud to be here," Dede Miller, Sheehan's sister, said Wednesday as she huddled in a blanket at the campsite. "This is just so important. What we did in August really moved us forward, and this is just a continuation of it."

In August, hundreds of demonstrators camped off the road during a 26-day protest led by Cindy Sheehan, whose 24-year-old soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq last year. But a month later, county commissioners banned camping in any county ditch and parking within a 7-mile radius of the ranch, citing safety and traffic congestion issues.

Earlier this week, three demonstrators filed a federal lawsuit against McLennan County over the two local bans.

But the demonstrators said their protest would continue, even if they were arrested. The peace activists have set up camp at a private 1-acre lot that a sympathetic landowner let them use the last several weeks of their summer protest. The land is about a mile from Bush's ranch.

Anti-war protester Juan Torres, holding a photo of his son, speaks with Carl Rising-Moore during a demonstration along the roadside near U.S. President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, November 23, 2005. Several people were arrested for criminal trespassing as they demonstrated against Bush's stance on troops in Iraq. REUTERS/Jim Young

 

McLennan County Sherrif's deputies arrest peace activist Tammara Rosenleaf in Crawford, Texas. Police arrested about a dozen protesters near US President George W. Bush's Texas ranch, including the sister of a noted opponent of the war in Iraq, witnesses said.(AFP/Mandel Ngan)

Anti-war protestor Tammara Rosenleaf, left, comforts Juan Torres, who holds a poster of his son Army Spc. Juan Torres who died in Iraq, during a protest at the original Camp Casey, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005, in Crawford, Texas. Rosenleaf was among a dozen war protesters that were arrested Wednesday for setting up camp near President Bush's ranch in defiance of new local bans on roadside camping and parking. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)