Anti-War Protestors (Olympia, WA) Hit With Pepper Spray

[theHandpuppet]

May 30, 7:11 AM EDT
Anti-War Protesters Hit With Pepper Spray


OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- Police fired pepper spray as about 150 anti-war protesters tried to enter the Port of Olympia as part of ongoing demonstrations against the shipment of Army equipment to Iraq.

Protesters chanted "Out of Olympia, Out of Iraq" as they rocked a chain-link gate to the port late Monday, and at least three tried to use wooden boards to pry the gate open, The Olympian newspaper reported. A 50-ton piece of equipment was moved to reinforce the gate on the other side.

Police and sheriff's deputies clad in riot gear fired at least four rounds of pepper spray in an hour after asking the demonstrators several times to stop, authorities said. No one was arrested, but paramedics were dispatched to treat some activists.

Dozens of demonstrators crouched in the port plaza, dousing each other's eyes with water and offering slices of onion to soothe their throats....

MORE at http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PORT_PROTEST?SITE=OHCIN&SECTION=AMERICAS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[babylonsister]

1. So much for freedom of speech.

and the right to civil disobedience. It's scary that these instances of suppressing protesters seems to be happening more frequently.

[bbernardini]

2. I don't think prying open a locked fence is a "right."

I don't like what was done to these folks, but...well, see the subject line.

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. I'm not aware of any right to civil disobedience

By its very definition, civil disobedience is a deliberate breaking of the law. There is no right to break the law, no matter how righteous the cause or unjust the law. The point of civil disobedience is to break the law and get arrested in order to draw public attention.

[babylonsister]

4. I stand corrected. So they got some attention.

I'm waiting for the day the police throw down their pepper spray and join the protesters.