No Free Speech: Protester Arrested for Pentagon Rally That Sought to Connect 9/11 to War in Iraq

A man was detained by a Pentagon police officer after he slipped a black hood over his head and produced a sign that read, “Freedom?” The man was removed from the Pentagon registration area, handcuffed and taken away in a police car.

Anti-freedom march: What do these two things have to do with each other? 1) The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2005, and 2) President Bush’s war of whim in Iraq?

Answer: Nothing. Zippo. Zippedity-doo-dah.

Yesterday, the Pentagon (and the White House) held what they called a “Freedom March” across Washington that was promoted as a commemoration of two things : 1) the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and 2) the prided we feel in our troops in Iraq and elsewhere.

Honoring the troops is good thing but it was non-military civilians – not our troops – who were attacked by the terrorists.

They’re not even bothering to try to be subtle or sneaky. This is full-out Soviet-style propaganda.

The event was set up to prevent war protesters from expressing themselves but a few did show up – and at least one was arrested – and this is an outrage:

Earlier in the day, several protesters appeared to run into trouble with the large police presence at the Pentagon and along the route. One man who registered for the walk was detained by a Pentagon police officer after he slipped a black hood over his head and produced a sign that read, “Freedom?”

The man was removed from the Pentagon registration area, handcuffed and taken away in a police car. It was not clear whether he was charged or simply detained and the police did not respond to messages requesting more information.

Ann Grossman, 56, from Silver Spring, Md., also carried a homemade sign, which read “Honor Our Troops, Respect Their Lives,” that was confiscated by police at the Pentagon. Ms. Grossman registered to participate in the walk, saying she did so to voice her opposition to the Iraq war, and she was allowed to participate without the sign.

“I am totally against this administration and totally against this war,” Ms. Grossman said.

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