Anti-war protests at front steps bring about backdoor dealings.

Byline: Diane Dietz The Register-Guard

Five Eugene activists went to the Federal Building on Wednesday determined to get arrested, but federal officers refused to cooperate.

The officers locked the main courthouse doors and watched from inside rather than give the anti-war protesters what they wanted - images of police dragging them out on the evening news.

"As long as they don't block all the entrances, they're free to do what they're doing," said Senior Officer Tom Keedy of the Homeland Defense Department. And later, "That's our game plan and we're sticking to it."

The seven-hour protest was a minor nuisance for courthouse employees and visitors, most of whom officers escorted through a side door.

Still, a scuffle ensued when a female mail carrier gave protester Vip Short a sharp shove, yanked open the door behind him and pushed her mail cart through. Short kept his hands at his sides. The carrier's violence drew a rebuke from Keedy.

In another instance, a tall man strode up to Short, who was sitting in front of the doors with a sprig of hyacinth and tombstone-shaped sign that read: "In memory of thousands in the armed forces of the U.S. and other nations who will die in this war."

Short craned his neck to see the man who towered over him: "Nothing against you, sir," Short said. "I don't want to make your day any more difficult, but it's a matter of conscience for me."

The man said: "If I wasn't in a good mood, I'd kick you in the ... face," which prompted Keedy to hustle the man off across the federal plaza.

The protesters' actions - impeding business at a federal courthouse - is a violation of federal law with a maximum penalty of $5,000 and 30 days in jail, Keedy said. Most likely, however, protesters engaged in such an action would receive a $50 disorderly conduct ticket and be released, he said.

Most courthouse employees and visitors took the protesters in stride. Kennedy Middle School teacher Donna Chapman, who arrived with her two children to get posters from the U.S. Forest Service, said she understood why officers locked the building.

"They could be weird or suicidal, who knows?" she said, glancing at the protesters.

The five protesters, who called themselves the Arrest-In-Peace group, dressed in black suits and slacks for their planned arrest. Of the five protesters, one was in her 20s and the others were in their 50s and 70s.

Their thwarted strategy was to enter the Federal Building and occupy the lobby underneath portraits of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney until authorities reacted.

To avoid surprising officers, the protesters called ahead and described their plans, allowing officers time to decide their best response was to simply lock the doors.

The protesters said they didn't make their decision lightly or on the spur of the moment. Each said they'd written and called their representatives, attended rallies, sponsored demonstrations, and put in endless hours holding anti-war signs.

"At some point you've exhausted every legal means available to you," said activist Sarah Charlesworth 

"When people are being killed with our tax dollars, that crosses my personal line of conscience," he said. "America used to be the hope of the world. Now we're perceived as the scourge of the world."

Eugene Police had already warned the group that they would use painful holds to carry resistant demonstrators, said protester Peg Morton, who is 72.

At the end of the workday, the protesters said they were satisfied because they closed down the "normal ingress, egress" of the Federal Building.

Next time, it would be different, they said: "Our next action will take place at an unspecified date and time, in sympathy with those worldwide who can never know when or if the bombs will fall on them."

CAPTION(S):

As Homeland Security Officer Tom Keedy (center) intervenes, an unidentified postal worker (left) tries to force her way past protester Vip Short on Wednesday at the doors of the Federal Building in Eugene. Protest: Most visitors take the disruption in stride Continued from Page D1 Please turn to PROTEST, Page D2