The Olympian • Published August 04, 2008
Police arrested three anti-war activists – including two South Sound residents – early Sunday morning for blocking the Fort Lewis main gate. Lakewood Police spokeswoman Heidi Hoffman said the three were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct at about 2:40 a.m. at the Interstate 5 onramp at Milepost 120.
Protestors have been trying to block the return of Stryker combat vehicles from Iraq via the Port of Tacoma. So far nine people have been arrested, Hoffman said.
About 900 vehicles – including Stryker vehicles, trucks and Humvees – are being convoyed to Fort Lewis following the return of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Strykers after more than a year in Iraq. [Go here for The Olympian original.]
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Protestors Enter Day 5 at Port Olympia
From Free Speech Radio News / August 4, 2008
Anti-war demonstrations continue today at the Port of Olympia in Washington State despite arrests over the weekend. Protesters oppose use of the port by the Army’s Fourth Stryker Brigade returning from Iraq. Mark Taylor-Canfield has more from Seattle.
So far, five days of protests have been organized by the Port Militarization Resistance, a coalition of anti-war groups who are opposed to the use of the port of Olympia by US Army units fighting in Iraq. The demonstrations began last week when a US military ship, the USNS Britain, began unloading 900 military vehicles returning from the war in Iraq. Clashes between police and demonstrators during recent protests in Olympia and Tacoma have resulted in eleven arrests. Six people were arrested last week after they dropped an anti-war banner from an overpass on Interstate Five near Fort Lewis. Two were arrested at the port when they crossed a police barrier.
Yesterday three more demonstrators were arrested at the Port of Olympia when they briefly blockaded the road at the gate of the port facilities. The activists were booked into the Pierce County Jail on “suspicion of disorderly conduct.” During the incident, a man was tasered by police and required medical treatment at Tacoma General Hospital. Last year dozens of protesters were arrested at the port during anti-war demonstrations, including an Olympia City Council member. This is Mark Taylor-Canfield for Free Speech Radio News in Seattle.
[Go here for Free Speech Radio News.]
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