22 anti-war protesters arrested at port
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 Posted: 1539 GMT (2339 HKT) 
CNN International
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/05/31/iraq.protest.ap/

OLYMPIA, Washington (AP) -- Hours after police fired pepper gas 
and arrested 22 anti-war protesters, activists returned to Port 
of Olympia on Wednesday to oppose the shipment of Army equipment 
to Iraq.

Some activists spent the night at the port facility at the south 
end of Puget Sound.

War opponents began watching the port for a military ship more than 
a week ago after learning that Stryker armored vehicles and other 
Army gear from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, a 4,000-soldier 
unit stationed at Fort Lewis, were to be shipped through the port 
to Iraq. The cargo ship arrived late Monday.

Officers used pepper spray several times Tuesday night, including 
once when some people in the crowd threw bottles and rocks at officers, 
said sheriff's Capt. Brad Watkins.

After the initial arrests, the crowd dropped to about 100 people, 
he said. Later, the remaining protesters headed off on a brief march 
but about three dozen returned for a late-night vigil, Watkins said.

Watkins said 22 people had been arrested, two of them for failure to 
disperse and the rest for criminal trespass.

On Monday night, at least three protesters tried to pry the port gate 
open. Authorities fired pepper spray after asking demonstrators several 
times to stop, authorities said.

Sixteen people were arrested over three days last week, mostly for 
pedestrian interference.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material 
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.