Sheehan Edges Closer To Bush Ranch
Anti-War Protesters Move To Site Provided By Texas Sympathizer
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Play CBS Video Video Mom Now Anti-War Lightning Rod Some of Cindy Sheehan's rhetoric has made her a target for some conservatives. Bill Plante reports that liberal groups are trying to revive her anti-war message with candlelight vigils.
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Video A Mother's Protest Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, is protesting near President Bush's Texas ranch. She is finding supporters and critics of her effort. CBS News' Bill Plante reports.
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Cindy Sheehan (left) became an anti-war activist after her son, Casey Sheehan (right), was killed in Iraq. She's demanding to talk to President Bush and is camped out near his ranch. (AP)
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A police booking photo of Larry Northern, arrested for allegedly driving his pickup through the nearly 1,000 white crosses erected at the protest site, in memory of GIs killed in Iraq. (AP/ WacoTribune Herald)
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Rowena Jhant, a supporter of President Bush and an opponent of Sheehan's efforts, decided to stop by and pick up crosses and flags knocked over by the pickup truck a few hours earlier. (AP)
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Interactive Moms On Anti-Warpath Sue Niederer and Cindy Sheehan, mothers of a slain American soldiers, turn their grief into activism.
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Interactive Bush Presidency The president's agenda, plus facts, figures, major events and key personalities.
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Interactive Battle For Iraq The government, the insurgency, key players, background and photos.
"I would encourage the commission to weigh heavily the (U.S. Constitution's) First Amendment rights that we have, because that's really the fundamental thing: free speech, the ability to protest, legitimate dissent in a democracy," said Ann Wright, who has been in charge of the site.
The group has set up camp in shallow ditches, but people congregate on the roads, causing cars to stop or slow down. Some drivers have blown their horns continuously while maneuvering around the crowd, and several have yelled, "Go home!"
Tension between residents and the groups has been building.
A resident was arrested Monday night after authorities say he ran over hundreds of small wooden crosses bearing names of fallen U.S. soldiers. On Sunday, a nearby landowner fired his shotgun twice into the air, but he was not arrested. No one was hurt in either incident.
On Saturday, hundreds of cars — anti-war demonstrators and Bush supporters attending counter rallies — were parked on both shoulders for miles. Traffic was at a crawl for about an hour.
Sheehan of Vacaville, California, started the vigil Aug. 6 and vows to stay through Mr. Bush's monthlong ranch visit unless he meets with her and other grieving families.
She has promised to return to the area whenever Mr. Bush goes to his ranch. The president said he sympathizes with Sheehan but has made no indication that he will meet with her. She did meet with Mr. Bush in June 2004, at a gathering at Fort Lewis, Washington, for grieving families.
Protests are not unusual when the president stays at his ranch, but most are within the Crawford city limits. Sheehan's anti-war demonstration is the longest, most publicized and closest to the ranch.
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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