ST. PAUL, MINN. — The first anti-war march at the Republican National Convention drew about 250 protesters Sunday, a relatively quiet warm-up to a Monday event expected to draw tens of thousands.
Meanwhile, key organizers for a self-described anarchist group remained in jail, leaving others to coordinate its activities in advance of Monday’s march.
The Sunday march, organized by Veterans for Peace and fellow peace group Code Pink, started at the state Capitol and was to wind its way to the Xcel Energy Center where the Republican convention gets started on Monday.
A couple dozen marchers wore orange jump suits symbolizing the prisoners housed at Guantanamo Bay. Marchers carried banners that said, “Torture Destroys Us All,” “S.O.S. Nation in Distress” and “Pro Peace Pro Soldier.” Sixty-one combat boots were lined up on the Capitol lawn to represent Minnesota soldiers who died in Iraq.
“We want to make it very clear we are pro-soldier and anti-war,” said Madea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink.
Korean War veteran Bill Starr, 73, was carrying an American flag and a tombstone with the name of a soldier killed in Iraq. He said he sees futility in war.
“I can lock up my house and scream about it or I can come here,” said Starr, of Minneapolis.
March organizer David Harris has said the march wasn’t directed specifically against Republicans, but against “warmakers.” Monday’s march, expected to bring up to 50,000 people to the scene of the convention, is being organized by a coalition of peace groups.
“This is going to be a very broad, inclusive demonstration,” Katrina Plotz, a member of the coalition, said of Monday’s march.
“We just really want to encourage people to come out.” Members of the RNC Welcoming Committee — a protest group not affiliated with the Republican party that has been helping other groups coordinate Monday’s protest — were trying to regroup after a series of raids Friday night and Saturday saw six people arrested and materials seized.
