26 protesters arrested at House building

26 protesters arrested at House building
By Natasha T. Metzler / Associated Press

WASHINGTON - About 100 demonstrators protesting the Iraq war marched past the Capitol carrying mock coffins Wednesday and lay down in front of doorways at a House office building, where 26 were arrested.

Many covered themselves with sheets designed to make them resemble dead bodies.

"I had to bring my body down here to say no," Paki Wieland, 63, of Northampton, Mass., said as she waited in line to get on a police bus.

The protest was organized by Declaration of Peace, a coalition of about 500 groups that has organized war protests around the country during the past week. The events started Sept. 21, to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Peace.

Protesters started their demonstration in a park and marched along the street in front of the Capitol carrying 20 mock coffins draped in American flags or black cloth.