DC protesters demonstrate against Bush the President, one last time Mike Sheehan and Stephen C. Webster

Published: Monday January 19, 2009





Print This Email This Dozens marched on Washington, D.C.'s 17th Street today in a last-minute sendoff for departing President George W. Bush.



Citizen journalist Mike Rogers, a staff member of RAW STORY, captured exclusive photos of the protesters, in the blocked-off zone around the White House. Numerous videos of the protest, found at the bottom of this story, were also submitted to YouTube.



The group had a police escort in front and back and were allowed to march on the closed streets. Iraq Veterans Against the War, World Can't Wait: Drive Out the Bush Regime, Code Pink and other protest groups took part in the demonstration.



The final DC protest of Bush the President culminated with a barrage of shoes being hurled at White House gates; a symbolic gesture of solidarity with Muntadar al-Zeidi, an Iraqi correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, who threw his shoes at President Bush as he gave a press briefing in Baghdad.



Al-Zeidi's brash act made him a folk hero in Iraq, driving a massive spike in sales of the "Bush Shoe," formerly known as Ducati Model 271.



One protester, wearing a jail uniform and dummy Bush head, walked before a group of others holding a large sign saying "Arrest Bush." Others held a sign with an anti-war quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday today is a federal holiday, while a group from Code Pink held a similar sign.



"A hooded, black-clad man posing as the Grim Reaper stood nearby with a sign saying 'Death thanks Bush and Cheney.' The reaper, in an interview, added: "Theyve been very good for business,'" reported Reuters.



"On the stage nearby -- behind a neat line of boots, loafers and sneakers -- Gael Murphy, co-founder of the antiwar group Code Pink, called Zaidi courageous and thanked 'everyone who has stood up and spoken truth to power in their own way,'" said the LA Times.



"Hold onto your shoes," Murphy is quoted as saying. "The struggle is not over."



President-elect Barack Obama is to be sworn in tomorrow in the nation's capital, while Bush will head to his ranch in Crawford, Texas to begin post-White House life.



























The following videos were captured, edited and posted by protesters outside the White House on Jan. 19, 2009.























Mike Sheehan, David Edwards, Mike Rogers and Stephen C. Webster contributed to this report.



