“Arrest that war criminal!” Sheehan shouted outside the White House before her arrest, referring to Obama.
At a rally before the march, Sheehan asked whether “the honeymoon was over with that war criminal in the White House” -- an apparent reference to Obama -- prompting moderate applause.
The protesters defied orders to clear the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House and park police say they face charges of failure to obey a lawful order.
Activist Ralph Nader told thousands who gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House that Obama has essentially continued the policies of the Bush administration, and it was foolish to have thought otherwise.
“He’s kept Guantanamo open, he’s continued to use indefinite detention,” Nader said. The only real difference, he said is that “Obama’s speeches are better.”
Others were more conciliatory toward Obama. Shirley Allan carried a sign that read, “President Obama We love you but we need to tell you! Your hands are getting bloody!! Stop it now.”
Allan thought it was going too far to call Obama a war criminal but said she is deeply disappointed that the conflicts are continuing. “He has to know it’s unacceptable,” Allan said. “I am absolutely disappointed.”
The protest organized by Act Now to Stop War and Racism or ANSWER drew a smaller crowd than the tens of thousands who marched in 2006 and 2007. Protests in cities around the country also had far fewer participants than in the past.
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