Charges Against Sheehan Dropped
Capitol Police Admit Error In 'Peace Mom' Arrest At House Of Reps.
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Play CBS Video Video Sheehan Released Cindy Sheehan was released from jail in Washington, D.C., a few hours after her arrest at the Capitol on Tuesday night. She was arrested for wearing an anti-war T-shirt.
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Video Police To War Activist: Sorry U.S. Capitol Police have apologized and are dropping criminal charges against anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who was arrested during the State of the Union address. Linda Alvarez reports.
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Security escorts peace activist Cindy Sheehan from the U.S. House of Representatives before President Bush's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006, in Washington. (AP Photo/The Washington Times)
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Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young, R-Fla., speaking from the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, holds up the T-Shirt that prompted Young's wife Beverly to be removed from the gallery by Capitol Hill police. (AP Photo/C-Span)
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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 2006 State of the Union President Bush lays out his election-year agenda to the nation, Congress, VIPs and invited guests.
"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.
Young's shirt had just the opposite 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, Hanley said. "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.
©MMVI, 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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