| Disclaimer: This page is a spoof of the GV Lanthorn website. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||
| Mini ZenGarden | Design Report | |||
|
||||
| Government | Campus | Events | Sports | Contact Me |
 |
Protest ends in arrests GVSU professor is arrested at protest marking fourth anniversary of Iraq war  GVL / Kyle A. Hudecz Taking a stand: Anti-war demonstrators scream for the release of Hermann Kurthen, a GVSU sociology professor, as he is apprehended by Grand Rapids police. The demonstration was held on the corner of Burton Street and East Beltline Saturday. |
  |
Erik Westlund GVL Assistant News Editor News 3/18/2007 8:57:43 PM |
||
| An anti-war march in Grand Rapids marking the fourth anniversary of the Iraq invasion Saturday led to the arrests of four people, including a Grand Valley State University professor. About 150 demonstrators gathered at the corner of East Beltline Avenue and Burton Street SE at about 12:30 p.m. before marching to the home of U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers. The protest, organized by the Grand Rapids chapter of the anti-war group ACTIVATE, was part of a nationwide call for the end of the war in Iraq. Protesters carried signs and banners reading “Support Our Troops Bring Them Home,” “Save America Impeach Bush,” and “Stop U.S. Imperialism,” in addition to those with vulgar language. At the home of Ehlers, protesters put signs in the representative’s front yard, including one that read, “War criminal lives here.” They also duct-taped a cardboard sign to his home that asked him to sign a pledge to end the war. Another demonstrator put a flier in neighbors’ doors that read, “CRIME ALERT! One of your neighbors has provided legal and financial support for the following crimes: The killing of more than 3,000 U.S. soldiers, approximately 650,000 Iraqi civilians, torture of prisoners, and paying contracted mercenaries to prosecute the war in Iraq.” The protesters were asked to leave the private property and continued to march down Burton toward East Beltline, where trouble soon began. A protester led the group with a megaphone, a violation of Grand Rapids’ noise ordinance. “The crowd continued to be boisterous, profane and began spilling onto Burton Street creating a traffic hazard,” Grand Rapids Police Captain Curt VanderKooi said. After ignoring repeated requests to discontinue the use of a megaphone, the first arrest was made for violating the noise ordinance, he added. GVSU sociology professor Hermann Kurthen was tackled to the ground and handcuffed after “creating a disturbance while obstructing a traffic lane,” VanderKooi said. Sheila McCarthy, 57, witnessed the arrest and said Kurthen was pushed into the street as a result of the crowd’s momentum. “I think he was very innocent,” she said. “I think the police were very out of line. I saw the police jump out of their cruiser and they acted like (Kurthen) had a gun on him. I am still in shock that was real and not a bad dream.” Calls to Kurthen’s home were not returned as of press time. Two other individuals who interfered with police officers were taken into custody for resisting and obstructing a police officer, VanderKooi said. During the course of the arrests, one protester threw a small explosive device that started a fire and had to be extinguished, he said. GVSU junior and ACTIVATE member Chris Mills said the arrests did not take away from the message of the protest. “It absolutely comes with the territory,” he said. “You have to take it to the streets to inspire change.” Mills said the public reaction was generally positive. “I was pretty impressed,” he said. “For being such a conservative town, I thought we would get a lot of negative reaction. There was a lot of honking, a lot of peace signs and I think there was a general happiness that we were out there.” |
||
Government News:
|
||
Campus News:
|
||
Event News:
|
||
Sports News:
|
