3,000 in largest demonstration of DNC

3,000 march in largest demonstration of DNC

By Patti Thorn

August 27, 2008, Rocky Mountain News [ Denver ]

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/27/3000-march-largest-demonstration-dnc/

Marching behind a police vehicle that flashed the words

"Follow Us. Welcome to Denver." on an electronic sign, at

least 3,000 Iraq war veterans and anti-war protesters made

their way through downtown Denver on Wednesday during the

largest demonstration of the Democratic National Convention to date.

Though the event, co-sponsored by the anti-war group Tent

State University and Iraq Veterans Against the War, was

unpermitted, the parade proceeded peacefully.

It began at the Denver Coliseum and ended at the Pepsi Center

perimeter about three hours later. There, veterans attempted

to contact aides of presidential candidate Barack Obama to

deliver a statement urging Obama to endorse the idea of an

immediate withdrawal of "all occupying forces" from Iraq

among other positions.

The letter also upbraided the Democratic Party for their

"initial and continued" support for the war.

After an hourlong standoff, during which tensions between

veterans and police escalated, a meeting with an Obama aide

was arranged, and the crowd dispersed.

The march began around 3:15 p.m. outside the coliseum after

many of the participants had attended a free concert

featuring the heavy metal/rap band Rage Against the Machine

and three other acts.

Throughout the four-hour show, band members and emcee Jello

Biafra, formerly of the Dead Kennedys, offered political

commentary and urged audience members to join the demonstration.

They stressed that it would be a peaceful march.

Referring to conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh,

who had been widely quoted as saying it would be his "dream"

for Denver to break into riots during the convention, rapper

Jonny 5 of the Flobots, a Denver band, told the crowd the

worst thing they could do was make that dream come true.

While some feared the police would attempt to stop the

unpermitted march, officers escorted the group through city

streets, redirecting traffic and pedestrians.

The group of mostly young people walked behind a banner that

said: "Support GI Resistance."

Protesters appeared to stretch across at least four city blocks.

Wearing T-shirts and stickers with slogans such as "Arrest

Bush" and "Make Out Not War," they sang rolling chants,

Marine style. "Tell Me What We're Marching For," sang some.

"Stop the torture, stop the war," answered others.

People lined the streets to watch, mostly in approval.

As the parade made its way down Brighton Boulevard, Jonathan

Paul, general manager of Builder's Outlet, stood outside his

door-framing business. "We had no idea (what was happening)

until police started showing up, and I went out and talked to

them," he said. Paul said he thought the road had closed

because of a passing dignitary.

Further down the route, Betsy Crane, a Denver mother, stood

with her children, ages 9, 7 and 5. "They wanted to see what

was going on," she said. "They're interested in seeing police

officers, as well as protesters."

Not everyone was as respectful.

From the balcony of an apartment complex, a man yelled at the

throngs of protesters to move on. "Don't come back here," he said.

But one protester had the last word: He suggested the man join the Army.

As the march wore on under a hot sun, some dropped out.

Others found ways to take shortcuts. Two teens on the 16th

Street Mall shuttle wearing Rage Against the Machine T-shirts

admitted they had skipped part of the march and planned to

join it as it neared the end.

One foot clad in a black shoe, the other barefoot, James

Koller, 17, explained: "Someone clocked me in the face and

took my shoe in the moshpit," he said. "This is a quicker

route to the Pepsi Center ."

Koller's friend, Joey Minicucci, 18, of Littleton, noted that

his brother was in the military, getting ready to be sent to

Iraq, one of the reasons he was going to the march.

Another woman in the throngs of protesters had her mind on

civil liberties: "I'm marching because it seems to be the

last vestiges of our free speech and because people have

demands and our government's not listening," said Anne Hill, of Montrose.

Montrose and others came to a standstill at the perimeter of

the Pepsi Center around 6:30 p.m., at which time they

attempted to have the letter delivered to Obama. Once

veterans had set up the meeting with a liaison for Obama,

tensions defused.

"I figured as long as we kept things peaceful, they would

hear us, and they did," said Jeffrey Wood, an Army veteran

who served 18 months stateside.