Polce State Of The Union

This kinda disturbed me a bit. This is the first I'm hearing about this incident with Cindy Sheehan, and it is in the form of the U.S. Capitol police apologizing for her unlawful arrest due to her sporting an antiwar t-shirt at the House Of Representatives right before Bush's State Of The Union Address. Why did the original story of Sheehan's arrest not make the news? It seemed as though the Capitol police had ample time to respond to the incident - and assess the damage - before it made any major news source. Am I nuts?

Either way, Sheehan was not the only person harassed by the Capitol police on the night of the speech:

Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer also apologized to the wife of a House Republican who was told to leave the chamber during Bush's speech for wearing a shirt bearing words of support for U.S. troops.

Rep. Bill Young of Florida had condemned the treatment of his wife, Beverly. Young, who chairs the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said on the House floor his wife was called "a demonstrator and a protester" for doing what Bush had asked of Americans: supporting U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.

Sheehan was attending the speech as the guest of Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat. In a speech on the House floor, Woolsey said Sheehan wore a shirt that highlighted the number of dead U.S. soldiers in Iraq. "Since when is free speech conditional on whether you agree with the president of the United States?" Woolsey asked.

"How can we claim to be fighting on behalf of freedom around the world, making the world safe for freedom when we are smothering freedom here at home?" she said.

Yeah, Woolsley's a bit melodramatic, but she has a point.

Capitol police apologize to activist Sheehan [Reuters]