Grandmothers Block Recruiters - Six are Arrested
On Friday, February 2, 2007 members of the Surge Protection Brigade in Portland, Oregon successfully blocked entrance to the Army/Marine Recruiting office on NE Broadway for two and a half hours. Emphasizing that many of them are grandmothers, they arrived at 7:45 AM with their rocking chairs. They rocked and stood in front of the three doors of the office, denying entrance to two recruiters and several visitors. At one point, frustrated recruiters physically pushed two of the protesters aside to squeeze through the back door. When two recruiters left to get breakfast they were denied re-entry and the accompanying police officer told them they would have to wait outside.
The police, after calling in enough reinforcements that they out-numbered demonstrators by about two to one, finally moved to arrest six of the grandmotherly protesters. They also took three rocking chairs into custody.
A group of protesters remained in front of the office for the remainder of the day. The office closed for several hours in the afternoon and recruiters finally called it a day a half and hour before the posted closing time when they weary of talking with two protesters who came in the unlocked door.
The six protesters were released from custody between 5:30 and 6:30 and were greeted by a march from the weekly anti-war gathering in Pioneer Courthouse Square.
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