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Protester interupted bush speech Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aV9_GTbyxvb8&refer=top_world_newshttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aV9_GTbyxvb8&refer=top_world_news
Protests Share Inaugural Spotlight Amid Top Security (Update1)
Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- A protester briefly interrupted President George W. Bush's second inaugural speech and, amid the tightest security in the history of the event, demonstrators condemned U.S. domestic and foreign policy.
Carrying flag-draped coffins on a march through downtown Washington, hundreds of protesters denounced the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and demanded more money for health care, schools and housing. Two police officers sustained cuts and bruises in a scuffle with demonstrators near the Capitol and, separately, there were at least five arrests, police said.
``Fifty-one percent is not a mandate,'' said health-care activist Vanessa Dixon, referring to Bush's vote total in a speech to more than 200 people gathered at a designated protest area on Pennsylvania Avenue. ``There's a real and present danger in the world. That danger is George W. Bush.''
A protester booed Bush during his inaugural speech at the Capitol and yelled, ``Where are the poor? Did you ship them out of town?'' He was shouted down by the crowd and escorted away by police. Officials closed one entrance to the parade route because people were throwing stones over the security tent. Police in riot gear were posted at a nearby entrance.
Arrested in Scuffle
One protester was arrested from the scuffle near the Capitol and charged with assault on police, D.C. Metropolitan Police spokesman Quintin Peterson said. A man who broke through security four years ago to shake Bush's hand at his first inaugural was arrested today on an old trespassing warrant, U.S. Capitol Police spokesman Michael Lauer said. He declined to identify the man.
Security for the inauguration, the 55th in U.S. history and the first since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is the tightest ever, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said.
About 6,000 law enforcement officers are assigned to the nation's capital along with 2,500 soldiers and bomb-sniffing dogs, according to the Homeland Security Department. Coast Guard ships patrolled the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers and Air Force jets circled above the city.
Security at hotels is being increased to protect the buildings and ventilation systems, Ridge said. Sharpshooters were positioned atop buildings near the parade route from the U.S. Capitol to the White House.
Unprecedented Security
``The security for this occasion will be unprecedented,'' Ridge said in advance of today's events. ``Protective measures will be seen; there will be quite a few that are not seen. Our goal is that any attempt on the part of anyone or any group to disrupt the inaugural will be repelled by multiple layers of security.''
The Homeland Security Department designated the swearing-in ceremony and parade up Pennsylvania Avenue as a ``National Special Security Event.'' The state funeral for former President Ronald Reagan in June and last year's political conventions in Boston and New York also received the designation.
More than 100 city blocks were closed to traffic and manhole covers on the parade route were welded shut. City and federal offices were closed, and areas were set aside for protesters.
The St. Regis Hotel, three blocks from the White House, set up an alternate parking garage for guests because the regular facility was closed. Hotel employees were told to take the subway.
Added Guards
The hotel has added guards and was getting bulletins about security almost hourly leading up to the inauguration from the Department of Homeland Security, said Tracy Kaltman-Ahmed, the hotel's director of sales and marketing.
``We always have high-level guests, so it's something we are used to,'' she said.
City inspectors about a month ago started examining hotel rooms, stairwells, exits and ventilation systems, which they do before every inaugural, she said.
The Willard InterContinental Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, which bills itself as the only luxury hotel on the parade route, is providing guests with shuttle bus service to the evening balls and events around town to cope with street closings.
Security at the hotel is ``enhanced but subtle,'' said Willard's director of public relations, Barbara Bahny. ``Our security is accustomed to important visitors.''
The Willard has a long history with inaugural events, she said.
Abraham Lincoln stayed at the hotel for two weeks before his inauguration, and the Willard was the site of his inaugural lunch of corned beef and cabbage, mock turtle soup, parsley potatoes, blackberry pie and coffee, said Bahny.
Screening Guests
Those attending inaugural events were subject to screening at more than a dozen public entry points, according to the U.S. Secret Service. Prohibited items include weapons of any kind, aerosols, backpacks and large bags, laser pointers, animals, coolers, packages, bicycles, and any supports for signs or placards, which must be made of cardboard, poster board or cloth.
Some attendees waited in security lines for about an hour to get to the viewing areas along the parade route. Hundreds of protesters gathered, shouting ``Drop Bush, not bombs,'' and ``Bush is a terrorist.''
Protesters complained that one area designated for them along the parade route was hidden by 8-foot-high bleachers for Bush supporters.
``It's like a bad joke,'' said Fred Persi, 35, of Arlington, Virginia.
Protesters argued that electronic voting machines tilted the count to Bush's favor. ``We're mostly against the bogus election. It was a stolen election,'' said Shannon Hicks, 42, who traveled from St. Louis.
Early Arrivals
Early arriving audience members on the Capitol lawn said security lines were short. Mary Glasscock of Louisville, Kentucky, said she came through security in five minutes at 8:30 a.m.
Most restaurants and hotels downtown stayed open to benefit from tourist trade, though many smaller businesses on the blocked- off streets shut down for the day, said D.C. Chamber of Commerce spokesman Brian Boyer.
``It's never a good thing for the businesses when the city turns into an armed fortress,'' he said.
Last Updated: January 20, 2005 15:55 EST
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