Anti-war group's drone protest closes museum
Source: Agencies |
October 10, 2011, Monday
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THE National Air and Space Museum in Washington in the United States was closed on Saturday after anti-war demonstrators swarmed the building in a protest about a drone exhibit and a security guard used pepper spray to repel them.
Smithsonian spokesman John Gibbons said a large group of demonstrators, estimated at up to 200 people, arrived at about 3pm and tried to enter the National Mall museum.
When a guard stopped them entering, saying they could not bring in signs, he was apparently held by demonstrators, Gibbons said. A second guard used pepper spray on at least one person and the crowd dispersed, he added.
A number of groups have been demonstrating in the city in the past week. The group that arrived at the museum included individuals taking part in the October 2011 Stop the Machine demonstration in the city's Freedom Plaza, which has an anti-war and anti-corporate greed message.
The group also included protesters affiliated with Occupy DC, a group modeled on the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City. Occupy DC has been holding marches and meetings in Washington's McPherson Square.
David Swanson, 41, of Virginia, said he was among dozens of people affected by the pepper spray, even though he was outside.
"I began choking and vomiting and got a headache," Swanson said.
Swanson, who says he is part of the Freedom Plaza protest, says protesters were not looking to shut the museum but to make a point about military spending and the use of drones. He said security officers became aggressive after protesters unfurled a banner.
He posted videos on his blog, warisacrime.org, that shows a security officer yelling "Get back" as pepper spray is apparently used.
Pete Piringer, a DC fire department spokesman said that medics treated or evaluated a dozen people at the scene but that no one was seriously affected by the pepper spray.
Legba Carrefour, who is working with Occupy DC, said a number of individuals joined the march to the museum following an afternoon meeting of the group.
Ann Wilcox, a lawyer working with Stop the Machine, said a 19-year-old woman was arrested. She paid a fine and was released later on Saturday.
Over the past three years, drone strikes against al-Qaida targets in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas have quadrupled to more than 220.
The museum was expected to re-open yesterday.
Smithsonian spokesman John Gibbons said a large group of demonstrators, estimated at up to 200 people, arrived at about 3pm and tried to enter the National Mall museum.
When a guard stopped them entering, saying they could not bring in signs, he was apparently held by demonstrators, Gibbons said. A second guard used pepper spray on at least one person and the crowd dispersed, he added.
A number of groups have been demonstrating in the city in the past week. The group that arrived at the museum included individuals taking part in the October 2011 Stop the Machine demonstration in the city's Freedom Plaza, which has an anti-war and anti-corporate greed message.
The group also included protesters affiliated with Occupy DC, a group modeled on the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City. Occupy DC has been holding marches and meetings in Washington's McPherson Square.
David Swanson, 41, of Virginia, said he was among dozens of people affected by the pepper spray, even though he was outside.
"I began choking and vomiting and got a headache," Swanson said.
Swanson, who says he is part of the Freedom Plaza protest, says protesters were not looking to shut the museum but to make a point about military spending and the use of drones. He said security officers became aggressive after protesters unfurled a banner.
He posted videos on his blog, warisacrime.org, that shows a security officer yelling "Get back" as pepper spray is apparently used.
Pete Piringer, a DC fire department spokesman said that medics treated or evaluated a dozen people at the scene but that no one was seriously affected by the pepper spray.
Legba Carrefour, who is working with Occupy DC, said a number of individuals joined the march to the museum following an afternoon meeting of the group.
Ann Wilcox, a lawyer working with Stop the Machine, said a 19-year-old woman was arrested. She paid a fine and was released later on Saturday.
Over the past three years, drone strikes against al-Qaida targets in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas have quadrupled to more than 220.
The museum was expected to re-open yesterday.
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