"Five arrested for refusing to leave during overnight protest at port"

Tacoma News Tribune:

Police arrested five people early Tuesday at the Port of Tacoma after anti-war protestors refused orders to move off the railroad tracks, Tacoma police reported.

The five were arrested on suspicion of criminal obstruction and booked into Pierce County Jail, police detective Brad Graham said Tuesday morning.

No injuries were reported to the protestors or police. No property damage was reported, Graham said.

The arrests early Tuesday bring the total number of protestors arrested at the Port of Tacoma to 37. Protestors have been at the port each night since March 3 in an attempt to block a shipment of Strykers and other military equipment to Iraq. The 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division held its deployment ceremony Monday at Fort Lewis.

Between 75 and 100 protestors were at the port Monday night. About 9 p.m., the group started to march from Lincoln Avenue and Milwaukee Way to East 11th Street and Port of Tacoma Road. They stayed at the Port of Tacoma Road location before heading back to Lincoln Avenue and Milwaukee Way shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, Graham said.

“They chanted and held signs,” he said. “It seemed peaceful.”

When the protestors were back in the Lincoln and Milwaukee area, Graham said they were blocking access to some of the railroad tracks. He noted trains move along the tracks throughout the night by the port.

Officers ordered the crowd to disburse. When they refused, a chemical spray was released, Graham said. All but five protestors disbursed. The five who remained again refused to leave and were taken into custody, Graham said.

Tacoma police were assisted at the port late Monday and early Tuesday by officers from the King County Sheriff’s Office, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, Washington State Patrol and a group of South King County law enforcement agencies.

Tacoma police plan to have a round-the-clock presence at the port until the military equipment leaves.