Massive Anti-War Protest Marched on the DNC Wednesday

uploaded by zpaulsgrove August 28, 2008 at 10:43 am
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Massive Anti-War Protest Marched on the DNC Wednesday by zpaulsgrove

A group numbering up to 14,000 people at its height and led by about 50 uniformed members of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. The group ignored the demonstration rules and did not have a permit, but snuck through police patrols and met at the gates of the Democratic National Convention.

They say their efforts were worth it, as they were able to get a meeting with the staff of Barack Obama. The protesters were led by rockers Rage Against the Machine, all carrying signs and chanting slogans.

Once the massive group arrived at the DNC, guards locked the gates to the Pepsi Center and walked away. About 20 war veterans and 1,000 protestors remained at the gates. That number was down from what police estimated was about 3,000 to 3,500 people. Organizers had ballparked the size of the march at 12,000 at its height.
The veterans' mission was to deliver a letter to Sen. Barack Obama, requesting an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. They also wanted full health care benefits for returning troops and veterans, and reparations to the Iraqi people for damage caused by the war. A copy of the letter had been mailed to Obama's office on Monday.

Reid Neureiter stepped atop the podium and held the microphone tight between his hands.
"Are there any delegates – anyone, anywhere – that can hear us?" the Dallas native and Denver attorney bellowed, alone but for his son and son's friend in a caged-in, empty parking lot some 47,000 square feet large. "Surely, someone can hear me behind these double iron fences? Tell your politicians that this is a travesty of the First Amendment."

A month after whipping the crowd at Lollapalooza into a near-riotous frenzy, a strange thing happened during the Rage Against the Machine protest show on Wednesday (August 27) in support of Iraq Veterans Against the War: Things were downright ... peaceful. And, as of 7 p.m. Mountain Time, they stayed that way as several thousand protesters gathered in the shadow of the Pepsi Center, where President Bill Clinton was about to address the Democratic National Convention.