Protesters arrested on campus (University of Missouri-Columbia)

[struggle4progress]

On Monday morning, one Columbia resident had plans to change the lawn in front of Crowder Hall into a mock burial ground. But when Steve Jacobs touched his shovel to the ground, MU police immediately arrested him.

Jacobs, 50, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree property damage after he attempted to dig a fake grave in front of Crowder Hall to symbolize mounting U.S. casualties in Iraq.

Jacobs and other volunteers from St. Francis House, a Columbia homeless shelter, held signs in front of Crowder Hall and distributed fliers condemning the war in Iraq. Protesters chose to protest at Crowder Hall, which houses MU’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, because the program “prepares more young soldiers to spill more blood with more unholy violence,” according to a news release.

“If you follow a commander in chief then you are also committing war crimes, even if you aren’t in Iraq,” Jacobs said. <snip>

http://www.themaneater.com/article.php?id=21438


Police stop protesters burying coffins
Activists were demonstrating against the war in Iraq.
By MEREDITH MacKENZIE

May 3, 2005

<snip> Jacobs and his wife went to Crowder Hall where detachments of Navy, Army, Marine Corps and Air Force ROTC programs are housed. There, they attempted to bury black coffins draped in U.S. and Iraqi flags.

“The coffins are symbols of death and mourning,” Steve Jacobs said. “It is better to dig symbolic graves than to make real ones.”

They began digging at 9 a.m. but were stopped and arrested shortly afterward by officers patrolling the area, said MU police Capt. Brian Weimer.

The Jacobs were arrested on suspicion of second-degree property damage. They were released on a summons, Jacobs said in a statement to the media. Their arraignment is scheduled for June 2. <snip>

http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=13667