Iraq Protesters March Down Fifth Ave

WTAE Channel 4
None Given
November 3, 2004

PITTSBURGH -- An estimated 200 people marched through the streets of Oakland Wednesday evening, as part of a multi-city protest against the war in Iraq.

Channel 4 Action News crews following the event reported a handful of arrests and fires being started as the group marched along Fifth Avenue during evening rush-hour traffic.

According to a press release, the demonstration was put together by Pittsburgh Organizing Group as part of the "Beyond Voting" movement, and planned before Tuesday's election as a form of civil disobedience.

Participants are calling on President George W. Bush to focus on health care, education and what they call "the dangers of current U.S. policy."

University of Pittsburgh police said they arrested two people on unspecified charges during the protest.

Pittsburgh police said they helped campus police monitor the protest and used dogs to move demonstrators back onto the sidewalk after some of them spilled into the street.