March on the Pentagon March 17 2007 Riot Police

[jibety96]

why the hell are they wearing gas masks

[ntabonkerleo]

in case they use gas.......

[yaxley234]

Because they don't want to get high from all the protestors pot.

(Laughs sadistically.)

[breezeman199]

Fascism by any other name,,

[yaxley234]

What the protestors.

[FinalWish2]

Protesters aren't supposed to be within 300 yards of any government building. It's just the law.

[djjimi]

Where the hell did you get that one from, your buddy Rush Limbaugh?

Name it... and I'll have it declared unconstitutional.

[GamerEmpire9]

Fucking beleive me, I am no conservative, but you can't just run up to the entrance of the pentagon because you feel like it and start yelling inside with signs and crap. And no it isn't unconstitutional. That'd be like saying public lynchings are legal because its 'assembly.'

[djjimi]

There are laws against protesting at certain events (this is where the free speech zones came from) which have never really been challenged - And yes, these laws are patently unconstitutional. Protests often take place at the doorsteps of both federal and state buildings, and while they do require a permit - they are constitutionally protected. I would imagine that when we're talking about buildings like the Pentagon, there are laws prohibiting protest in the name of national security.

[CarrieSnider]

Nice, you got the exciting stuff. Cops look like their doing nothing but alot of feather preening!!

[repsac3]

"Move.

Move.

Get out the way.

Get out the way."

[vigilance77]

Police forces dressed all in black like darth vaders...interesting.

[suicidalmaniac2005]

those police were less organized than monkeys at the zoo flinging poo... they were poorly equipped and needed another six months of training... poor guys... a bunch of peace protestors scared them...

[Street5pirit]

our taxes paid for those streets, the riot gear and even the pentagon itself. tell me again why the public can't be on public property?

[ASRacer]

Because it's a secure area.

Your tax dollars paid for Dulles and National Airport too. Do you think you should be allowed in the non-secured areas? How about the runway?

Your tax dollars paid for military bases, nuclear power plants, nuclear waste storage facilities, top secret research facilities, etc. Try getting to one of those.

[djjimi]

Its only secure when they want it to be. How the hell a "757" got within a few hundred feet of the Pentagon (not once, but TWICE) on 9/11 without being shot down should tell you volumes about security at the Pentagon.

[usmc6891]

Only one hit the Pentagon.

[djjimi]

Yes mr. Marine man, there was only one strike... but if you brainwashed people took the time to do your own research instead of believing everything the media feeds you, you'd find out that flight 77 approached the Pentagon, then made a 360 degree maneuver which took it miles off course before it made it's final "descent". Look up the Black Box Data Recorder and watch the fucking flight path.

[ASRacer]

You were part of the rest of the protest group.  The rest of the group went to the designated march route where their protest permit allowed them to go. This part of the group broke off deliberately looking for a confrontation. If they had not been looking for a confrontation why were they carrying shields and wearing masks and bandannas? The rest of the marchers didn't have shields and bandannas covering their faces.

These protestors eventually retreated to the appropriate area.

[flamingliberal2]

The bandannas are primarily there to cover our faces if the cops actually did use tear gas. After the initial scuffle, we all sat down. The entire scene was rather ironic after that.

Oh yeah, and the shields don't do much except give us a place to duck behind when they mace us or gas us. They don't work well to stop them from cracking skulls.

[ASRacer]

But why couldn't you all have just gone down the route that the permit was for?

[flamingliberal2]

It's the way to garner interest. The idea is to do something that attracts media attention, and then let the cops act first. Whatever happens after that is the fault of the cops. If it becomes a risk-arrest situation, then it's up to whether or not there is enough media presence to warrant it. In the end, it's all about martyrdom to get the message out even further. There was no way in hell we were going to get into the Pentagon. They'd shoot us first.

[ryanrocks7681]

apporpiate are...

some freedom toprotest when your told where to go..

when a PERMIT and PROTESTS costs a million bucks...

[lisalisalisacat]

First of all there was no one to tell you where to go or not go.  So many people were not intentionally "looking for a confrontation" Secondly it was bloody cold that day. Many people had their faces covered with scarfs to keep warm.

[ASRacer]

How is it that 2000 "unmasked" people who weren't carrying shields, managed to find their way to the area where they had a permit to be. Yet the 100 or so people with shields, masks covering their faces, went over the bridge?

How is it that they totally missed the dozen or so officers standing in their path directing them down the ramp where everyone else went?

The truth is they were looking for publicity and a fight.

[kobraSVT]

Uh, yeah they were really "charging" you, not your streets either.

[veranasi]

who do they belong to? aliens from mars?

[flamingliberal2]

Actually, according to the cops making the announcements, we were on public property, and because of that, we needed to move.

[beachgirl74]

You were on a highway / roadway...not a public area

[lisalisalisacat]

A roadway that had been cleared and permmited.  Like they would do for any parade.

[flamingliberal2]

Tell that to the cops. Apparently they didn't know that they were telling us incorrect information.