By Matt Fredmonsky
and Dave O'Brien
Record-Courier staff writers
An anti-war march and protest in downtown Kent following Sunday's commemoration of the 38th anniversary of the May 4, 1970 shootings at Kent State University resulted in four arrests.
Four protesters who sat down in the middle of Kent's West Main Street bridge and refused to comply with the order of Kent police officers to clear the road were arrested and charged with failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to a Kent Police Department press release.
The four arrested included Yvette Coil, a KSU conflict management major, organizer with the Cleveland chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War and wife of a veteran of the Gulf War; Aaron Brooks, a local musician; Bill Arthrell, a former KSU student and Cleveland resident; and an unidentified woman.
The march, organized by the Kent State Anti-War Committee and the Portage Peace Coalition, began on campus and proceeded west along East Main Street, stopping at the KSU U.S. Air Force ROTC building in the Terrace Annex to post paper peace signs on the doors. It continued on city sidewalks until it reached the corner of West Main Street and Franklin Avenue.
Police clad in riot helmets and armed with pepper-ball guns attempted to re-open the bridge to vehicle traffic shortly after 4:30 p.m., approximately an hour into the downtown gathering. While early on officers stood by and allowed the protesters to chant, dance, play music and hang signs from the bridge, an officer in a police cruiser eventually used a public address system to order the protesters to vacate the road.
Only minutes before his arrest, Arthrell told a Record-Courier reporter that he had been arrested six times during the "Tent City" protests of the late 1970s, when KSU built the Memorial Gym Annex at the site of the shootings, and 12 times overall during protest actions.
"I'm pleasantly astounded by these kids today," said Arthrell, a teacher in the Cleveland City Schools. "They're really making a stand for a better world ... This is democracy's finest moment, when people take the initiative to change something on their own."
After the arrests, traffic slowly began to cross the bridge while remaining protesters continued to linger at the edge of the sidewalk and verbally harassed several drivers. Noah, a member of the Kent State Anti-War Committee who declined to give his last name, used a bullhorn to start a chant of "Let them go!" at the downtown gazebo while officers processed the four people across Main Street near Home Savings Plaza.
Noah led the remaining group of protesters to Kent police headquarters at the corner of Haymaker Parkway and South Water Street where they continued with a chant of "No justice, no peace, f*** the police."
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Sorry insurance gal, are you saying the US set the fires? From what I heard it was the Iraqi govt that set the fires to stop the American troops. Sorry if I misunderstood.
52.
Posted by insurancegal May 9, 2008
Average Joe,
I'm not spreading anything. If you read what I wrote, maybe I should have put it in better words but I said I don't know how true it is.
Reqouting what I said before:
"Also a friend of mine who served in Iraq for two years, said that Al-quida (sp) didn't set all the oil on fire but the U.S did. I don't know how true that is but he wasn't the only person who served over there to tell me. "
51.
Posted by Truthtalk May 9, 2008
Montym..
Please provide us with the reliable, truthful information you speak of. Win us over. You can't sell someone on your point by insluting them. So, give us the source of your information and reliable, truthful information. The truth shall set us free.
50.
Posted by montym May 9, 2008
Averagejoe,
Who is my leader? You, like the The Liberal_Exposer, have assumed wrong.
You spew tired justification, hide behind the illusion of patriotism, and scream louder that you are correct. Your practices are tired and will not work in the future. Reliable, truthful information is becoming available to people; therefore, your binary voice will be diminished. If it is not then I will have been defeated and will watch this country implode by people of your type. If that is the case then blame and choosing sides is pointless because for once we will all be sharing in a similar experience. However, if my dreams do come true, I will rejoice in watching your people become marginalized and exposed as the terrorists you are.
In your address to WHatahatefuworld you mention "in the eyes of the public". What support has the public given you that you can rationalize writing for it?
49.
Posted by Truthtalk May 9, 2008
Hateful World
Exactly what is President Bush's agenda? Don't Google for that answer...tell me in our own words. Spelling and grammar will not count against you. Articulate this mammoth conservative agenda. Does it involve aliens? Does it involve men in sunglasses and suits? I know...it involves oil!! Please, enlighten the readers. I am confused on how a Repulican President can over-run a Democratically controlled House and Senate. Give us the answers!
48.
Posted by averagejoe May 9, 2008
WHatahatefuworld - As usual you folks wont or can't face the truth. Always big conspiracies and believieng the worst. The man was speaking about what they did, that's all. What he doesnt understand is that protesting like that, in the eyes of the public is more of a crazy nuisance. To make someone from either party sit up and take notice, you would have to blow yourself up on the statehouse steps. Otherwise, just like this post I'm writing, it's background noise. Anything we say doesnt matter.
47.
Posted by Whatahatefulworld May 9, 2008
It was on fox 8. I know that because they were in the courtroom. But average joe saw them on TV and knowing he/she watches fox 8 is reason enough to ignore the person. EVERYONE knows Fox lies and promotoes GW Bush's agenda.
46.
Posted by averagejoe May 9, 2008
Montym - your leader was on tv tonight during coverage of the war protesters arraignmnet. Watch the interview and tell us if what he said really made sense. He hasnt a clue.
What is difficult for us to understand, is this. We are liberating people in other countries from lives of tyranny.
Yes! the innocents do want our help. They are happy we are there, fighting for their freedom. No matter what anyone says.
The ones that hate us being there are the terrorists, and people like you and the anti american media.
As blessed as we are in this country, isn't it our duty as fellow humans to help victims of maniacal govts? You are loveless.
You would think you would be happy we are there helping the downtrodden. But no. You dont know the meaning of sacrifice are miserable.
Trust us, our soldiers do. They know what they are fighting for and it is right!
You are against the war. So are we! DO you think any of us want to send our young men to fight overseas in a foriegn country? To think that and to call us the enemy are the words of a moron that doesn't "get it". This isnt Vietnam. We were attacked! Remember! Bush isnt president Johnson who sent almost 60,000 troops to their deaths. People with your mindset don't understand defending yourselves or helping others. You think we are the terrorists. Duh. You agree with the terrorists when they say that America is the great satan and bush is a demon. Because you are told to belive that by similar minds that think america is a bad place. Wipe the mud from your eyes and wake up from your drug induced coma and realize your's and your childrens freedoms are about to be taken away. You think homeland security is taking away your rights. Try on communism or sharia law.
Tell us. Was it okay for Al'Kaida to send 2 planes into the the WTC killing 3000 innocent men women and children our own brothers and sisters? None of whom probably ever did anything to a muslem. Just out of sheer hatred for the American way of life and it's citizens. Should we have gone after bin Laden? Or should we have tried to reason with the terrorists, like former pres Carter. These people would just as soon cut your head off than talk to you. You represent the weakness and freedoms they hate. They sacrifice their own citizens lives in the name of their god.
Was it okay for Saddam Hussein to starve his people while their food sat on the docks and rotted? Or even more horrifying - kill hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens because they didnt agree with his religious views. Have you seen the pictures of the children, women and men that he killed with WMD's (nerve and mustard gas) Have you read about how horrible of a death dying is by those means. Imagine your lungs being burned from the inside out or being 3 years old and all of a sudden freezing in paralysis and your heart just stopping. Should we help these people or let them be die and be tortured. Or how about this. Saddams sons killing and torturing citizens just for the fun of it. Cutting out their eyes and tongues because they looked at him wrong. What do you think he would have done to you when you sat down on that bridge or carried your sign or raised your hand in protest.
You believe it's because of oil, because that's what your f'd up liberal anti-american leaders want you to believe. It's about freedom and democracy and living life without fear of being killed because you have different beliefs. This is what makes America great. This is what our forefathers fought and died for! Understand? They died so your measley piece of flesh could speak out against it's principles because you don't agree, no matter how much sense it doesnt make to me. Why do you want to throw away that freedom? People like you and this ultra- liberal movement are the biggest threat to our freedom.
Do you believe Hussien brought this all on himself? All he had to do was let the weapons inspectors in. What do you think he was hiding?
Should we sit back and let him threaten us and isreal? Should we have let him send a missle into Isreal so that they would nuke the whole middle east. Your leaders also voted to go to war not just Bush. He didnt lie your media sources want you to believe that...keep drinking the Kool-aid.
Please. You ought to be on your knees everyday thanking God you live in America instead of another country. Oh I forgot you don't believe in God probably. You live in a fog of the real world. You believe all of the communist, Ultra liberal, anti-american, inspired media propaganda paid for by Freedom haters like George Soros/William Ayers and the rest of the moveon.org - America hating propanganda machine. You take the negative as gospel. And do not look up things to find the real truth
You montymn are the real enemy, you are complacent and uneducated about the truth. That is our biggest threat to our freedom.
Oh yeah - insurance gal - What your friend described building schools, saving innocent civilians etc sounds like progress to me. Should we abandon them or try to help them. It is different over there. I have friends in Iran and they lived in fear everyday of their govt. Believe me our media is telling us about all of the deaths etc over there. However they aren't telling us about the progress. Why? It is an election year and the media will do anything to elect a dem for president. Did you hear the news that the top Al'Kaida man in Iraq was captured Thursday? Probably not. I only heard i once all day. The dems and our liberal influence media dont want us to hear the positive things about Ameriaca or Americans.
Anyway in the words of a great American...that's all I have to say about that...
Why would we set the oil wells on fire? Are you talking about in the 1990s? Unless you know for sure, dont spread these types of things. People will think you are like montym
45.
Posted by The_Liberal_Exposer May 8, 2008
Posted by montym
"The Liberal_Exposer,
Your assumptions are way off. Your title does not match you well."
These aren't assumptions. My title is self explanatory: I expose liberals and radical 60's holdovers like you, (who never grew up or have done anything productive in the private sector), for all the hypocrisy that you spew. Wow, your (hypocrital) message of peace really sticks out like a sore thumb.
44.
Posted by montym May 8, 2008
Truthtalk,
Intelligence and respect are wasted on terrorists like you.
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