Inaugural DemonstrationsProtesters Prominent on Parade Route; Some Arrests Made
"Despite rainy winter weather in the nation's capital, protesters also congregated prior to the parade at the U.S. Supreme Court on Capitol Hill, chanting, "No Justice, No Peace!"
Earlier, just at the moment Bush was taking his oath of office, police were clashing with protesters at an intersection just a few blocks from the parade route in downtown Washington.
With a helicopter hovering overhead, the Secret Service and busloads of police, some in riot gear, blocked off the intersection, though the vast majority of the protesters were congregating peacefully.
Law enforcement officials said the protesters were being surrounded and moved because they did not have a permit to gather on the street. The demonstrators began to disperse at around the time Bush finished delivering his inaugural address. So far police have made a total of nine arrests for disorderly conduct."
You probably think he should call out the National Guard in their riot gear?
The marchers faced the biggest show of police force ever for a presidential inauguration. For the first time in history an inauguration was declared a “national special security event,” which placed the Secret Service in overall charge of security.
At least 10,000 uniformed and plainclothes officers of 16 federal, state and local police agencies were present. The parade route was lined with steel barricades and uniformed police stood five to eight feet apart. To get close to the parade route, people had to pass through one of ten checkpoints where bags were searched while helicopters flew overhead and sharp-shooters watched from rooftops.
Police justified the buildup by claiming that the protesters would be violent. However, the only violence came from the police themselves. When a contingent of demonstrators who had left Dupont Circle heading for Freedom Plaza, where they had a permit to protest, they were blocked by a line of police in riot gear standing shoulder to shoulder. As the demonstrators approached and chanted “let us through” the police began swinging their clubs and arrested 15 people.
At another point during the parade the Secret Service had all the checkpoints closed but two. This meant that thousands of both protesters and supporters of Bush had to walk as many as ten additional blocks to enter the parade area. At the first of these two checkpoints the line stretched more than three blocks as people waited to enter.
These are the facts, chimpy doesn't believe in the right to assemble or protest....and it started on Inauguration day.
The boy ain't right.
Originally posted by Saurdaukar
He was concerned that a terrorist group might think that a protest would provide wonderful cover for an attack.
