6 war protesters arrested at lawmaker's O.C. office
By Jennifer Delson
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

12:09 PM PDT, August 8, 2007

Six antiwar demonstrators were arrested at the Garden Grove office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana) this morning, after camping out overnight and telling her they wouldn't leave unless she publicly promised not to approve more funding for the war in Iraq.

Most of the protesters are members of the group Military Families Speak Out. They entered the office about 7 p.m. Tuesday during an open house. They sat on the floor in the lobby and refused to leave unless the congresswoman made the statement they wanted. Sanchez refused.

The lawmaker's staff initially chose not to call police and let the group stay overnight.

Sanchez voted in 2002 against giving President Bush the authorization to invade Iraq, and more recently voted to begin pulling troops out within 90 days.

While Sanchez was attending a meeting of Orange County Latino leaders this morning, police removed the protesters, in handcuffs, from her office about 8:15. They were taken by van to the Garden Grove Police Department, where they were issued misdemeanor citations for trespassing. They were expected to be released pending a court hearing.

Sanchez said Tuesday night that she could not support the protesters because the Iraq war funding was in the same bill that provided money to build the C-17 aircraft in California.

"I never voted for this war," she said. But, she added, "I'm not going to vote against $2.1 billion for C-17 production, which is in California. That is just not going to happen."

Protesters did not accept Sanchez's argument.

"This is a war that was made up and people are dying, and there is no reason for it," said Ed Garza, who was arrested.

Garza and others talked to Sanchez during the open house. Advocates for immigration reform also attended. But the antiwar group remained after everyone left. Once seated on the lobby floor, protester Patricia Alviso began reading the names of Californians killed in Iraq.

"Jeromy D. West," she said.

"God forgive us," the others responded.

"Aaron Boyles," she said.

"God forgive us," they said again.

When they refused to leave in the morning, more than a dozen police officers surrounded the office.

Garden Grove Police Lt. Travis Whitman said the protesters "offered no resistance and cooperated fully."

Those arrested were Garza, 60, of Santa Ana; Alviso, 55, of Huntington Beach; Jarret Lovell, 34, of Costa Mesa; Abraham Ramirez, 23, of Fullerton; Tutrang Tran, 25; and Robert Dietrich, 61, Los Angeles.

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