Westwood Update, 7PM

The situation in Westwood is very tense at 7 o'clock as the police have moved in with an aggressive show of force against thousands of anti-war demonstrators.

Around 6 o'clock, there were roughly 10,000 people at the intersection of Veteran and Wilshire. Demonstrators had been marching through the crosswalks of Wilshire, and staying in them blocking traffic, but getting up after a minute or two.

At about 5:50PM, Veteran was closed down but Wilshire was still open in both directions.

At 5:50, around 250 demonstrators flooded into the intersection and blocked the eastbound lane of Wilshire. They stayed there for about 5 to 7 minutes, at which point the police started to move back the crowd with force. People who objected to the force were treated with greater force. It took about 5 minutes for the police to beat back the crowd, but 20 to 25 people remained seated in the intersection.

The National Lawyer's Guild intervened and established a dialogue with the police. Shortly thereafter, the remaining protesters were allowed to join again with the crowd.

At that moment, the police and sherriff departments closed down the intersection, to keep demonstrators on the corners of the intersection. They were not allowed to cross the street. A tense standoff ensued, and eventually, the demonstrators moved into Wilshire about 25 yards west of the intersection, and they still remain there at this time. There are approximately 300 demonstrators sitting and standing.

Many people left once the situation got tense, and the crowd is down to around 5000 people. Until 6 o'clock people had continued to pour in, and the spirit of the crowd was serious, but upbeat. However, now, at 7PM, the situation is tense, due to the aggression of the police.

Four young demonstrators were just arrested (at 7:14) for staging a die-in. These are the first known arrests of this demonstration.