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Dozens of anti-war protesters arrested outside Capitol

Engaging in acts of civil disobedience

Two anti-war protesters are arrested on Capitol Hill Monday.
Two anti-war protesters are arrested on Capitol Hill Monday.

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Following a day of demonstrations both for and against a war in Iraq, reactions to U.S. President Bush's ultimatum to Saddam were mixed. CNN's Rusty Dornin reports (March 18)
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis over Iraq drawing to a close, hundreds of antiwar activists Monday demonstrated in Washington, New York and San Francisco. More than 130 people were arrested, including a Nobel Peace Prize winner and some protesters whose loved ones perished in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

The demonstrations are part of a weeklong campaign of civil disobedience across the country being organized by antiwar groups such as United for Peace and Justice, the Iraqi Pledge of Resistance, and the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition.

Officials of the groups said they expect that by week's end, protesters in 52 cities will engage in acts of civil disobedience.

Outside the U.S. Capitol, demonstrators Monday marched and waved signs that read "Stop the Slaughter of Innocents in Iraq" and "No Blank Check." Fifty-four protesters were arrested when they broke police lines. Three of them had relatives killed in the September 11 attacks.

"We can't simplify these world problems with evil and good. The problem is so complex, so great, and diplomacy is the only way to go," said Bob McIlvaine, whose son was killed in the attacks on New York's World Trade Center.

McIlvaine said he is certain his son would not have supported war against Iraq.

Kelly Campbell, also a member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tommorrows, said, "I know what it's like to experience shock and awe. I know what it's like to have somebody killed when something comes out of the sky and kills them, and that's what we are about to do to the people in Baghdad."

Campbell's brother-in-law was killed in the attack on the Pentagon.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said the protesters crossed a police line on the lawn of the West Front of the Capitol -- an area that is normally open to the public.

"This police line is a little demarcation, a little sign in the sand, where we protect the Capitol and they can protest," he said as some demonstrators peacefully walked past the police line to be arrested.

• In New York, more than 40 antiwar protesters were arrested for blocking the entrance to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Those demonstrators included a group of about 300 that carried red signs shaped like missiles with "U.S." and "U.K." written on them.

Among those arrested was Mairead Corrigan Maguire, the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner for her efforts to end the violence in Northern Ireland and who has long campaigned against military force against Iraq.

• In San Francisco, 40 protesters with a group calling itself "Direct Action to Stop the War" were arrested after they used body bags to stage a "die-in" in the city's financial district, briefly snarling traffic in the area.

President Bush is scheduled to address the nation Monday night about Iraq. (Full story)

CNN Producer Beth Lewandowski contributed to this report.


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