Hundreds of protesters storm WWII Memorial, Lafayette Park
Hundreds of protesters storm WWII Memorial, Lafayette Park
By Meredith Somers and Andrea Noble
The Washington Times
Sunday, October 13, 2013
- http://media.washtimes.com/media/ima...10b77b4a677545 Enlarge Photo
A protester speaks to people gathered at a rally at the World ... more
Hundreds of veterans and their supporters rallied at the World War II Memorial on Sunday, but what started as a demand to reopen the national war memorials for aging veterans quickly dissipated into smaller marches and demonstrations for a variety of grievances.
“There’s a three-part focushttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png: veterans, impeachment and the truckers,” said Michael Burke, a Baltimore-area resident who attended Sunday’s rally on behalf of Gun Rights Across America. “We’re here in part to reach out to Congress and show they this political pandering is toying with the public.”
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Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin were among those who attended the demonstration.
Sunday’s rally kicked off at about 9 a.m., with hundreds of people gathering at the eastern entrance of the World War II Memorial under a gray sky. The memorial has become an unlikely rallying point for people frustrated at the government, the catalyst being when a group of war veterans moved barricades aside to visit the memorial in the opening days of the federal government shutdown.
Some demonstrators chanted and sang patriotic songs, while others removed bicycle racks that were serving as barriers near the Lincoln Memorial and pledged to carry them to the White House.
About 200 people gathered in Lafayette Park outside the White House, although it wasn’t clear how many of them were participating in the protest. Some held American flags and others held “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and signs that said “Impeach Obama” and “Respect our vets.”
A contingent of U.S. Park Police and other officers stood in front of a barrier of bicycle racks between the crowds and the White House gate.
On Friday, a couple dozen truckhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png drivers from across the country drove around the Beltway in what they called the “Truckers Ride for the Constitution” to protest their displeasure with the federal government shutdown, entering its third week. The event fell far short of the thousands of participants organizers had promised.
As he shook hands with passersby, Howard County resident and World War II veteran Mike Lauriente, 91, said when he first heard about the park closure,”I thought it was a disgrace. This is so important and it’s disgraceful they closed a park like this,” he said. “Congressmen have a gym open, but a memorial like this is closed.”
Tom Tozzini, 69, also of Howard County and a Navy veteranhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png, said he had hoped for more people to attend the rally.
“It’s not the size I wanted it I be, but I think we made enough noise to be noticed.”
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