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Al Sharpton Speaks at Texas Anti-War Camp

Posted on: Monday, 29 August 2005, 00:00 CDT

CRAWFORD, Texas -- The Rev. Al Sharpton joined hundreds of war protesters outside President Bush's ranch for an interfaith service Sunday, saying he felt compelled to meet Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother who started the rally three weeks earlier.

Sheehan had arrived in Bush's hometown on Aug. 6 and refused to leave until she could question the president about the war that has killed more than 1,870 U.S. service members, including her 24-year-old son, Casey.

As her vigil drew attention, it also drew crowds, with some people joining her camp, celebrities stopping by to lend her their support, and Bush supporters heading for Crawford to protest the protesters.

On Sunday, Sharpton joined Sheehan in laying roses at crosses near "Camp Casey,"

"I feel that it is our moral obligation to stand and to be courageous with these families, and particularly Cindy, that have become the conscience of this nation," said Sharpton, an activist and former Democratic presidential candidate.

Actor Martin Sheen, who portrays the Democratic president on NBC's "The West Wing," also met with Sheehan and spoke to a crowd of more than 300.

"At least you've got the acting president of the United States," the actor said. "I think you know what I do for a living, but this is what I do to stay alive."

Several cars with pro-Bush signs drove slowly down the road by the protest campsite. One man was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly shoving an anti-war demonstrator, McLennan County sheriff's deputies said.

Amid all the comings and goings around Camp Casey on Sunday, peace activists Genevieve Van Cleve and Peter Ravella got married.

The aisle was strewn with hay, and the crowd hummed "Here Comes the Bride."

"This is meaningful. This has substance," said Van Cleve, 34, of Austin. "We completely support what they're doing, and we just wanted to add whatever love, fidelity, loyalty and honor that we could."

After the war protest ends Wednesday and Sheehan packs up camp, the anti-war group plans to spread its message on a bus tour, with the first stop likely in the southeast Texas district of U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Bush has said he appreciates Sheehan's right to protest and sympathizes with her, but his aides have said there are no plans to change his schedule to meet with her.

Sheehan and other grieving families met with Bush about two months after her son died last year, before she became a vocal opponent of the war.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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