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Police Drop Charge, Apologize to Peace Mom
Congressman's Wife Also Gets Apology From Authorities
BY LAURIE KELLMAN, AP


WASHINGTON (Feb. 2) - Capitol Police dropped a charge of unlawful
conduct against anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Wednesday and
apologized for ejecting her and a congressman's wife from President
Bush's State of the Union address for wearing T-shirts with war
messages.


"The officers made a good faith, but mistaken effort to enforce an old
unwritten interpretation of the prohibitions about demonstrating in the

Capitol,'' Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said in a statement
late Wednesday.


"The policy and procedures were too vague,'' he added. "The failure to
adequately prepare the officers is mine.''


The extraordinary statement came a day after police removed Sheehan and

Beverly Young, wife of Rep. C.W."Bill'' Young, R-Fla., from the
visitors gallery Tuesday night. Sheehan was taken away in handcuffs
before Bush's arrival at the Capitol and charged with a misdemeanor,
while Young left the gallery and therefore was not arrested, Gainer
said.


"Neither guest should have been confronted about the expressive
T-shirts,'' Gainer's statement said.


Gainer added that he was asking the U.S. attorney's office to drop the
charge against Sheehan. The statement also said he apologized to the
Youngs and "share the department's plans for avoiding this in the
future.''


"A similar message has been left with Mrs. Sheehan,'' Gainer said.


For his part, Bill Young said he was not necessarily satisfied.


"My wife was humiliated,'' he told reporters. He suggested that
"sensitivity training'' may be in order for Capitol Police.


A foreign-born American citizen who was the guest of Rep. Alcee
Hastings, D-Fla., also was taken by police from the gallery just above
the House floor, Hastings said Wednesday.


The congressman met with Gainer and House Speaker Dennis Hastert,
R-Ill., about the incident.


"I'd like to find out more information,'' Hastings said in an
interview, identifying the man only as being from Broward County in
Florida. "He is a constituent of mine. I invited him proudly.''


Sheehan's T-shirt alluded to the number of soldiers killed in Iraq:
"2245 Dead. How many more?'' Capitol Police charged her with a
misdemeanor for violating the District of Columbia's code against
unlawful or disruptive conduct on any part of the Capitol grounds, a
law enforcement official said.


She was released from custody and flew home Wednesday to Los Angeles.
"They violated my civil rights, they humiliated me,'' she told
reporters on arrival there. "They treated me like instead of having
just a T-shirt on I had a weapon.''


Young's shirt had this message: "Support the Troops - Defending Our
Freedom.''


The two women appeared to have offended tradition if not the law,
according to several law enforcement and congressional officials. By
custom, the annual address is to be a dignified affair in which the
president reports on the state of the nation. Guests in the gallery who

wear shirts deemed political in nature have, in past years, been asked
to change or cover them up.


Rules dealing mainly with what people can bring and telling them to
refrain from reading, writing, smoking, eating, drinking, applauding or

taking photographs are outlined on the back of gallery passes given to
tourists every day.


However, State of the Union guests don't receive any guidelines,
according to Deputy House Sergeant at Arms Kerri Hanley. "You would
assume that if you were coming to an event like the State of the Union
address you would be dressed in appropriate attire,'' she said.

SB
35s5
NY


Well I guess that means I can wear a T-shirt with "TED DRUNK" and a picture
of the Oldsmobile being pulled out at Chappaquidick to the next State of the
Onion Address and all will be fine.