Protesters railed against the treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees and others before marching through downtown to the federal courts complex today.
Some demonstrators wore orange prison jumpsuits and black hoods, to draw attention to the detention of those held at Guantanamo after being taken prisoner in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Starting at Civic Center just after noon, the protest march traveled down the 16th Street Mall, as marchers shouted, “Stop the torture, stop the war.”
Roughly 250 marchers paraded down the mall, with police formations leading the crowd as well as following the rear. About a dozen officers were sprinkled throughout the marchers. The most vocal and agitated of the marchers were flanked by mounted police officers, who kept in close proximity to the angriest of the marchers.
No arrests were reported by police.
As the marchers entered the federal court plaza at 19th and Stout streets, several dozen heavily armed federal officers watched from the sidelines. Officers said they had not received any particular threats and were merely making their presence felt. The mounted police officers remained on their horses across the street near a parking garage.
Speakers said that American Indian activist Leonard Peltier, convicted of killing two FBI agents, and Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Black Panther serving life for killing a police officer, weren’t given due process.
The criminal-justice system and the war on drugs are used by the government to provide jobs and raise money for corporations, they said. “Anybody who believes that this government wants to stop crime believes that Don King wants to stop boxing,” said Fred Hampton Jr.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama doesn’t represent the American people, they said. “What is it that people see in (him),” said Pam Africa, using an expletive to refer to Obama.
Several speakers tried to raise awareness about the United States’ trade embargo with Cuba, telling the dwindling crowd about the medical care Cuban doctors provide around the world despite the U.S. attempt “to destroy the island nation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
