Anti-Torture Protesters Arrested In Droves Outside White House (VIDEO)

Sixty-one anti-torture protesters were arrested outside the White House on Thursday in a planned act of mass civil disobedience at the end of an event organized by Witness Against Torture and Amnesty International.

The protesters -- wearing black hoods and orange jumpsuits -- were part of a larger group of 150 that marched in a slow procession from the Capitol to Lafeyette Park across from the White House to protest the torture of detainees held in U.S. counter-terror efforts. Before the group of 61 triggered arrest by blocking the sidewalk outside the White House, speakers in Lafeyette Park demanded that the Obama administration close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay and investigate and prosecute officials of the previous administration who crafted harsh interrogation policies.

"This is the 101st day of the Obama administration and Gitmo is still open. That's why we're here," said organizer Frida Berrigan to the legion of detainees. "The only way to decisively break from the Bush administration is to indict those responsible" for torture.

One protester held a sign that played on Obama's campaign slogans. It said, "The Audacity of Torture" and "The Audacity of War Crimes."

"Obama presumably has to listen to the progressive wing of his party. He certainly does risk alienating his base on this issue," said WAT spokesman Jeremy Varon to the Huffington Post.

The orange-clad protesters marched toward the White House, following military-style orders from Carmen Trotta, who was wearing camo fatigues. (Varon said Trotta does not have military background.) The protesters displaced two eighth-grade classes from Michigan posing for class pictures at the White House fence.

The arrests begin as an officer tightens the cuffs on Trotta, then everyone else. WATCH:

The protest is wrapped up as a police officer neatly folds the protesters' banner and the last members of the group are loaded into paddywagons. WATCH:

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Comments

[American50]

Put them in prison along with Pelosi and Reid

[grahamhgreen]

Please help spread the new anti-torture film starring Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura on Star Trek).

The film that will put BUSH BEHIND BARS!!!!

http://thetorturer.com

[BeckyJustice]

I for one, am very disappointed in Obama, but then, how dare we say this country does not torture. Read some history. There has been plenty of torture and war crimes all along. Ever hear of Wounded Knee? The Trail of Tears? We Will Fight no more Forever? In fact we broke almost every Indian treaty we made, in vicious fashion. Our favorite victims were women and children, in bitter WINTER, when we were burning their food supplies.

How about US War Planes Bombing Serbian babies and children from 15,000 feet in the air? They even bombed Albanian refugees, tried to blame it on the Serbs, but an NBC Newsman explained that the Serbs had no bombs that would have made that hole, and he promptly disappeared. Neatest part was, as we soon learned, the Serbs didn't even have any available Planes. Their had hidden underground, and they came off unscathed. 500 Allied Airmen POW's took a full page Ad in the Washington Post, trying to tell us we were lied to about the Serbs. Both Bosnia and Kosovo. No mass graves. The Albanians in Kosovo had more rights than we have in this country.

I thought, finally we will right the wrongs of centuries. Not hardly. Looks like Obama wants his slice of the torture and war crimes pie. Why on earth else would he not want this to all stop? Because it is not going to stop until we show people that we really want it to.

[dwright]

You obviously do not know how government operates or heard Obama lately. Give the man a minute, the statute of limitations will not run out on these clowns. We the People need to give Obama message after message that we want this prosecution through the Justice Department done and that we have his back. He needs all the political capital he can pull together. I am sure that the CIA and other goons in our NSA have threatened Obama with phrases like JFK. Don't sell the man short, just give the proper branch of the gov. time to pull all this together. This protest was a good start.

[BeckyJustice]

The problem is, I DO know how the government operates. Obfuscation, and the blame game.

As long as there have been governments, they have picked a portion of the population as scapegoats and a source of easy money. I honestly thought Obama was different. NOT so. Look at Hitler. Germany needed a ready source of money, so first he chose the Jews since so many of them were well off. His wasn't the first government to do so. Then he went on to Homosexuals, Gypsies, etc.

I'm 74, and have smoked since I was 17. Every single medical problem I have ever had in my life has been blamed on smoking. Give me a break. Breast Cancer? Couldn't have been from the Lovastatin my Doctors insisted was not causing all the other problems I had at the same time? Diverticulitis. Athsma, so bad my surgery had to be delayed. (And, which I never had before, OR, since I was on Lovastatin) Complete loss of energy. (Which also has finally gotten much better) Of course it saves the doctors time. They needn't look for the real cause.

So, now I am paying for Health care for children whose Parents make 10 times what I get from Social Security a month. Of course, for anyone who doesn't smoke, that's fine, but I sure do know how the Jews, etc. felt.

[Perla]

Since many posting here seem unaware of the longstanding Witness Against Torture, who sponsored this demonstration, I will put their links here:

http://www­.100daysca­mpaign.org­/taxonomy/­term/65
and
http://www.witnesstorture.org/

[destruct1]

what a joke....150 people...where are all you lefties crying about how few tea party protesters there were..? isn't the numbers that matter to you folks....seems to be when its against your ideology....

[HyperInfluential]

Hey when important and powerful individuals are going on the record saying they think the law shouldn't be enforced because they don't FEEL LIKE IT, and that everyone should accept that as a rational, American, legal, acceptable viewpoint, we'll take what we can get! At least they didn't have to go to a Free Speech Zone, they got to take their message straight to the President and peacefully express themselves, accepting the consequences without violence.

[dwright]

working unlike you folks that claim to hate socialism, yet collect generational welfare etc. It is highest in the rural and mountain areas of this country where most of the real wing nuts are.

[dwright]

At least they were all protesting for the same thing and had an agenda. The tea baggers were all over the place with no cohesive message

[rwext]

heh heh heh... Clinton and Carter are silent on the issue because they don't believe it was torture and what they did worked...hey , the Japanese version of water boarding was an SUV compared to a motor scooter

[prog]

I haven't seen a count of how many protesters there were. Were the all arrested?

[LeBelAge]

Oh look a real protest. We can't count on Fox or the other main stream media outlets to cover it.

[jme-SD]

They should be protesting in front of DOJ. It's Holder who has to appoint the special prosecutor or 3 judge panel or whatever they will be doing to handle this. Put the pressure on him. My guess is there are preliminary investigations going on at least in terms of gathering the documents.

All Obama has to do is not interfere and he will be doing his job.

[bilmardre]

Where were they a year ago?
This must be the "my foot has a big target on it" wing of the liberal left.

[Bigjawn]

I supported and voted for President Obama.
If he doesn't encourage or allow the attorney genral to prosecute, he'll be a one term president. I'll campaign against him.
I think the guy's terrific, but he has to (a) uphold the law, (2) seek justice for criminals and (d) let the chips fall where they may, which, in my humble opinion, will be in his favor.

[twintwine]

What if the attorney general does prosecute, but there are no guilty verdicts.

[HyperInfluential]

As long as the rule of law is followed, and such an unlikely outcome, given the evidence already in the public domain, came to pass, then so be it. The law doesn't always get to what people think is right, but the point is that we apply it the same to everyone from pauper to Prescott.

[bilmardre]

Well he won't be getting your vote and you will be campaigning for someone else.
He has clearly stated that it is not his preference to prosecute the previous administration. I guess he does not want to set this historic precedent. He may believe as I do that it was the job of the press and the American people to demand impeachment and prosecution when the previous admin was in office. All knew torture was occurring. That was the time to protest. We failed.
As is the law, the President is letting the Justice Dept handle this. If a truth commission is called for, I'm sure he will not hinder it. If they decide to prosecute the higher ups, he has let his preference be known, but he will probably not hinder it.

[dwright]

We need to put increased pressure on AG Holder.

[RightWingMarine]

if the goal is to prosecute thos who knew of the "torture" and did nothing about it does this mean Pelosi will be going to jail? She knew in 2002 and did nothing about it.

[wdw505]

no elected official will ever go to jail over this

[LauraD]

That's not the goal.

The goal is to prosecute that actually could have stopped it and did nothing.

If it comes out that Pelosi had the ability to stop it and did nothing, then she absolutely should be put on trial with the rest of them.

Do you find it strange that people in our party don't march in lockstep behind officials, but rather we want the lawbreakers punished, regardless of what party they're in? I know it's a change from the norm of obeying the party line even to the detriment of your own self-interest, but what can we say? We have actual principles that have nothing to do with party.

[littlepeople]

It will become an even more powerful protest when thousands are arrested outside the White House.

[truthtopower7]

Paddywagon is a term that is unacceptable. You guys should be ashamed for using it. Better yet, get an education before you write.

[valkyrie607]

Cue the sneering comments:

"Look at those stooopid protesters. They're all, I'm exercising my freedom of expression and getting involved in politics. Gawd, what a bunch of looooosers. I can't think of anything lamer than actively trying to influence the government that purports to represent me."

The losers are the folks who react to exercising their democratic right to free expression with disdain and anger are the real losers.

[valkyrie607]

Erk. That last sentence sucked.

The real losers are the folks who react to free expression and political activism with anger and disdain.

[power1]

Theme of the torture protesters: "The Audacity of Morons".