Hundreds protest at City Hall

Approximately 1400 people converged on City Hall and marched down Market Street to the Liberty Bell yesterday to protest the U.S. attack on Iraq. They were met early by a crowd expressing support for the troops in the Persian Gulf organized by City Council member Francis Rafferty. The anti-war protest started small -- with only 35 people -- and grew during the late afternoon to 1400 people. As the crowd increased through the afternoon, chants and slogans shifted from a pro-peace focus to a more militant, anti-government stance. The crowd, including many University students, took their protest east along Market Street to the Liberty Bell. Activists marched down the eastbound lanes of the Center City artery, tying up traffic for the 30 minute walk. Protesters shouted anti-war slogans through bullhorns and chanted as they walked around the Liberty Bell and back to City Hall where the rally continued. Area resident Patrick McLaughlin, who rallied to support U.S. troops, emotionally recalled taking his brother to the airport to leave for Saudi Arabia. "I asked him if there was anything I could do for him," McLaughlin said. "He told me to support him. 'If we lose the support of the American people,' he said, 'we will lose our will to get this done quickly, and we will lose our will to fight.' " Protesters assembled near City Hall yesterday, some responding to a call by peace groups and others gravitating to the site of many city protests during the past week. Act for Peace in the Middle East had previously distributed fliers calling for an "Emergency Action Alert," instructing people to assemble at City Hall at 4:30 p.m. the day after hostilities broke out. The activist group had also planned the march to Independence Mall. The group that rallied to support U.S. troops in the Gulf consisted of members of the Veteran's Association as well as several unions. Council member Rafferty said he organized the protest to support Gulf troops, claiming that the troops have been maligned by protesters in recent days. "These people are not for peace," Rafferty said referring to the protesters. "They are definitely anti-America." Second-year law student Tom Barber said that media coverage has been biased. "I'm tired of seeing only one side," Barber said. "The media are making it look like everyone is against this war and that's not the case. Those people are a vast minority." Most of the protesters, including University students, said that they were not protesting against the soldiers who were in Iraq, but at the government that had sent them there. The anti-war protesters that had congregated at John F. Kennedy Plaza moved across to City Hall when the crowd had reached about 200 people. They soon began to clash with the group supporting the soldiers. Shouting matches ensued, though both sides maintained calm with angry protesters on both sides being restrained by fellow activists. Cheers from anti-war protesters rang out as approximately 300 University students marched along Market Street towards City Hall. The group had formed on College Green earlier in the afternoon. The police, who had been quietly monitoring the situation, soon separated the clashing groups with barricades on the plaza in front of City Hall. Many of the people who had been rallying to support the troops began to disperse, but were soon followed by a more aggressive crowd who heckled the anti-war group. For about one hour, shouts of "traitor" and "kick their ass, take their gas" were countered with "no blood for war" and "money for housing, not for war" while police jostled in the barricaded area between the groups. Members of the Law School chapter of the National Lawyers Guild were enlisted by rally organizers as legal observers. According to first-year law student John Grogan, the students were there to observe the events and to ensure that civil rights were not violated. University students who attended the rally were almost unanimous in supporting the anti-war protest. Students decried the actions President Bush had ordered, calling him a "hypocrite" and "murderer." "George Bush is ordering people to kill other people," said Elea McDonnell, a College freshman. "He doesn't have that right. No one does." Other students said they were protesting because they have relatives in the armed forces and were frightened at the reality of war. "The price of a tank of gas isn't worth my brother's life," said College senior Liz Figueroa. 'George Bush is ordering people to kill other people. He doesn't have that right. No one does.'