09/08/07: 7 war protesters arrested - Madison -

7 War Protesters Arrested

The Capital Times :: METRO :: B1

Saturday, September 8, 2007
By KATIE DEAN The Capital Times kdean@madison.com

Seven anti-war protesters were arrested and cited for blocking the sidewalk outside Sen. Herb Kohl's office on West Mifflin Street on Friday afternoon during a peace demonstration.

The protesters, part of the Madison Pledge of Resistance peace activist group, put up yellow crime scene tape across the sidewalk in front of Kohl's office and read off names of U.S. soldiers and Iraqis who have died in the war.

"Senator Kohl is supporting an illegal war," said Joy First, 53, one of the organizers of the group. "He says he's against the war but he continues to financially support it."

"We're calling on him to stop all funding for the war," she said.  jsfirst@tds.net

Those arrested, who ranged in age from 22 to 77 years old, were cooperative with police, ticketed for $109 and released at the scene.

First said the demonstrators planned to go to court and use it as another opportunity to speak out against the war.

Friday's protest was carried out in conjunction with the Occupation Project, a national campaign run by the anti-war group Voices for Creative Nonviolence. The Occupation Project charges members of Congress to "Publicly commit to voting against any funding for the Iraq war or we will nonviolently occupy your offices," according to its Web site (www.vcnv.org).

Kohl was not in his office during the protest.