9 MN peace activists arrested in front of White House, to be kept in Jail for 24 houars

[annm4peace]

13 people were arrested at the White House today. Nine of them are from Minnesota including Steve Clemens and the Brauns and Mary Persich.

They are in the DC jail. Evidently they will be held for 24 hours in a jail that is all stainless steel including the bunks. The water supply does not work that well if at all in the cells. And according to Kathy Kelly they turn up either the heat and the air conditioning to make them uncomfortable.

For the action we had cardboard tombstones with the names of 77 Minnesotans who died in the wars and we read the name of each plus remembering the Iraqis.

Then we threw peace-decorated shoes at a End the Occupation sign that Coleen had brought along. We have great video of that.

Finally the 13 laid down on the sidewalk and we walked around them singing until the police told us we had to leave or be arrested.

They took the arrestees away in paddy wagon

Some of us went to Rep John Kline's office and talked to a staff person and then to Rep Keith Ellison's office and talked to a couple of sympathetic people. Tomorrow we talk to the Senator's staff people.
More later.