D.C. Demonstrators Get Permit Extension
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Demonstrators who have spent five days camping in downtown Washington to protest war, corporate greed and other ills were feeling more relaxed Tuesday as details of the group's permit extension were worked out.
Carol B. Johnson, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service, which oversees demonstration permits for the area including Freedom Plaza, said in an email late Tuesday that officials had approved an extension that would allow the demonstrators to remain in the plaza through Dec. 30. She said the extension excludes days for which permits have been issued or are pending for other events.
Demonstrators can apply for a new permit when this one expires.
At the demonstrators' camp on Pennsylvania Avenue, people were settling in, and some of the uneasiness of Monday -- when demonstrators thought they might be arrested for overstaying their permit -- was gone. More than two dozen tents were set up in the rectangular plaza, where a map of the city is marked on the ground in light and dark stones. Stations for legal advice, first aid and food were running, though kitchen supplies and tarps for expected rain were needed. A white board showed plans for the day.
"We're able to concentrate on the things we came here to accomplish," said Mike Sheffer, 54, of Brandon, Vt., who said he came to protest the influence of corporations on government.
On Tuesday, six of the protesters were arrested for demonstrating inside a U.S. Senate office building and attempting to unfurl a banner that said "Tax the Rich."
The protesters marched Tuesday afternoon with another group of demonstrators, Occupy D.C., which has been organizing marches from nearby McPherson Square. The group in Freedom Plaza has been using the slogan October 2011/Stop the Machine. The demonstration was organized to coincide with last week's 10th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan. Both groups have said they support each other, however, and more coordination between the groups has been happening.
Lee Statum, 52, a demonstrator from Alabama, said she has no plans to leave Freedom Plaza any time soon. She spent her last $150 on a train ticket to the capital in order to protest corporate influence, she said.
"I'm here `til it's over," she said.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
