Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

19 arrested in Iowa war protest
By Shajia Ahmad
The Daily Iowan (U. Iowa)
07/09/2007

(U-WIRE) IOWA CITY, Iowa — Nineteen antiwar protesters of the Iowa Occupation Project were arrested July 6 at the Cedar Rapids offices of Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, after they refused to leave when the buildings closed. Each was arrested and charged with state and federal trespassing, said Cedar Rapids police officials.

None of the protesters were taken to jail after their arrests, but all face court dates at the end of the month.

Earlier that day, 11 people charged with trespassing on Feb. 26 at Grassley's Cedar Rapids office were sentenced at the Linn County's 6th District Courthouse. The judge order each protester to pay $190 in fines and court costs.

Members of the Iowa Occupation Project, a local offshoot of the National Occupation Project — a campaign working to stop U.S. funding for the Iraq war — said they disagreed with the Iowa senators' commitments to continue financing the war. The group had sent letters on June 21 describing its plans to occupy the senators' offices unless each signed a pledge to change his policies.

Jennifer Mullin, a spokeswoman for Harkin, said the senator didn't feel comfortable signing the pledge.

"We echo the frustrations they have with this war, but he is only one senator," Mullin said. "Signing that document will make the senator feel he is abandoning the troops."

Grassley did not sign the pledge, either.

Before taking action July 6, approximately 75 people gathered a few blocks away from the senators' downtown offices. As the group marched toward Grassley's office, they held antiwar signs and cardboard cutouts of mourning faces.

Lara Elborno, 20, a UI Antiwar Committee member, said the group was informed by Grassley's office that only one person would be allowed into the building.

The crowd was denied access to the federal building by officials for around an hour, during which the protesters chanted and demanded entry — believing that their right of access to public officials was being violated. Cedar Rapids police officers video-recorded the demonstration outside the building.

"We're here to protect the city's interests and [the protesters'] interests," said Lt. Brent Long of the Cedar Rapids police.

Mona Shaw, 56, the only protester allowed initial access to Grassley's office, hoped she had made some progress by talking to the senator's staff.

A few blocks away at Harkin's office, eight protesters and their supporters crammed inside a tiny gray room waiting to communicate with the senator.

UI student Daisy Espino, 26, said the group had no trouble getting into the office.

Inside, the group spent 30 minutes reading the names of Iraqi children and Iowa soldiers killed in the war. Harkin's staff distributed handouts detailing the senator's efforts on troop withdrawal and his stance on the war.

Timothy Gauger, a member of the UI Antiwar committee, said he wasn't satisfied with the handouts.

"We want a binding set of benchmarks to bring the war to a close, and a binding timetable to bring the troops home," he said.

Cedar Rapids police arrested protesters in both buildings after they refused to leave at 5 p.m., when the buildings closed. Shaw, who was arrested at Grassley's office, said she felt the arrests were symbolic.

"It encourages other people to step forward. It shows there are people willing to stick their necks out," she said."Historically, it takes acts of civil disobedience to sound an alarm."

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