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Sheehan arrested outside Bush's ranch

Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2006-12-29 00:59.

Crawford, Texas (AP) -- Peace activist Cindy Sheehan and four other protesters [including Cindy's sister Dede] were arrested Thursday for blocking a road near President Bush's ranch, authorities said, snagging Vice President Dick Cheney's motorcade in the backup.

Sheehan and the others lay or sat in the road about 20 minutes and didn't heed requests to move, Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. R.T. King said.

"They weren't going unless they were arrested," King told The Associated Press. He said Cheney's motorcade was among the vehicles delayed by the demonstration.

Sheehan told the Waco Tribune-Herald that she and others were conducting a "peace surge" to address concerns that Bush may increase U.S. troop numbers in Iraq. Protesters said they had expected to be arrested.

Among those at the ranch Thursday were Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Earlier this month in New York, Sheehan was convicted of trespassing for leading a protest across the street from the United Nations.

A judge sentenced them to conditional discharge. Sheehan's attorney, Robert Gottlieb, said Thursday that meant they will not face any punishment as long as they lead a "law-abiding life" for the next year.

"There is nothing to say that what she was arrested for today means that she is not living a law-abiding life," Gottlieb told the AP. "She may in fact be innocent."

"I hardly doubt that anything that happened today would result in any problems in New York."

Sheehan, 49, of Vacaville, Calif., lost her 24-year-old son Casey in Iraq in April 2004. She has since drawn international attention after camping outside Bush's ranch.

Protesters have been arrested near the ranch in the past for violating a county ordinance forbidding camping out along the side of the road or blocking traffic.

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