5 war protesters arrested in Vito's office
Congressman, decried as Bush's "rubber stamp,"
was 200 miles away in D.C., opposing Iraq bill,

Saturday, March 24, 2007
By STEPHANIE SLEPIAN,STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.
Around 9 a.m. yesterday, the Eltingville office of Rep. Vito Fossella was "occupied" by seven anti-war protesters demanding an audience with the Republican congressman.

At the same time, he was in Washington voting against a Democratic war spending bill requiring that combat operations in Iraq end by 2008.

Denied their meeting with Fossella, the protesters refused to leave. They vowed to stay until the close of business, until Fossella granted them a meeting -- or until they were arrested.

And they were.

Five of the seven were charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, police said. They were expected to be released and given desk appearance tickets.

Colin Donnaruma, a legal observer for the protesters, said police gave those inside the office an ultimatum: Leave or be arrested.

The five who remained were taken out of the building in plastic handcuffs at around 1 p.m., she said, and were brought to the 122nd Precinct stationhouse in New Dorp for booking.

"We feel good that our members were brave enough to be arrested to take a moral stand and send a message," said John Lawrence, a St. George resident and chairman of Peace Action of Staten Island, which led the vigil with members of Brooklyn Democrats for Change.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Meanwhile, in Washington, a sharply divided House passed the bill 218 to 212, mostly along party lines. Two Republicans voted for the bill and 14 Democrats opposed it. Getting the bill through the Senate is a long shot because Democratic leaders will need the support of at least a dozen Republicans.

Back on Staten Island, the day began with the protesters arriving at Fossella's office to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq. The small, but vocal, group stood inside the small reception area and recited the names of the more than 3,000 American troops killed in Iraq while consistently demanding to see Fossella.

Fossella staff members told them the congressman was in Washington, but they were welcome to stay inside the office until 5 p.m.

At first, the protesters were individually reading from their list, but just prior to the arrests began screaming the names in tandem, preventing staff members from answering phones and speaking with constituents, said an observer in the office.

At least three times, police officers told the group to quiet down, threatening to arrest them because their conduct was becoming disorderly and they were trespassing, the observer said.

When the seven went into Fossella's office in the morning, another group assembled outside, brandishing signs and lambasting the voting record of Fossella.

Seven makeshift coffins draped with American flags lined Amboy Road. In front of them were laid pictures of combat boots, each with the name of a service member killed in Iraq. The protesters chants were often drowned out by motorists honking their horns in support.

"Fossella is the rubber stamp of Bush," said Westerleigh resident Steve Schwall. "He's got to think on his own -- he does that rarely."

Peace Action member Mike May said opinions differ on whether there should be an immediate withdrawal of the troops or whether they should be phased out. Still, he said, a timeline must be set.

"We need to start the process to end the occupation of Iraq, to stop killing innocent Iraqis," the St. George resident said. "They hated Saddam Hussein, too. Should they be killed for living in the wrong country?"

OPEN TO NEW IDEAS

The protesters claim Fossella has refused to meet with them, often canceling appointments at the last minute. Fossella spokesman Craig Donner said members of the congressman's staff have met with Peace Action more than once, both here and in Washington.

But members say that's not good enough. They want a sit-down with the man himself, not the people some protesters called his "puppets."

In a statement, Fossella said he is open to new ideas on Iraq but hasn't heard a "plan or strategy from the other side."

"We need to strongly and unequivocally support our troops and give them the resources they need to win," he said. "Like all Americans, I want to bring our troops home as quickly as possible. However, we cannot surrender the battlefield and still win the war.

"If America surrenders in Iraq like some have proposed, it will only embolden the enemy. Establishing arbitrary deadlines for withdrawal that forces America to retreat before the job is done is a gift to the terrorists."

Fossella is planning to sign his name to a motion that pledges Congress will not cut off or restrict funding for troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, Donner said.

Donner also noted that some of the protesters were members of World Can't Wait. Among its supporters is Ward Churchill, the University of Colorado professor who called the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks "little Eichmanns."

"The fact that he will meet with war profiteers and not meet with the people he represents is revealing," said Brooklyn resident Ben Maurer, a member of World Can't Wait. "I bet if we had some bling, he'd sit down with us."

Stephanie Slepian is a news reporter for the Advance. She may be reached at slepian@siadvance.com.