Sheehan planning return to Bush ranch
County laws restrict Crawford protest

11/16/05

By Justin Ward

Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain soldier and anti-war crusader, plans to return to President Bush's Crawford ranch Thanksgiving weekend for a vigil in spite of county ordinances banning roadside camping.

McLennan County commissioners passed two ordinances in response to Sheehan's demonstration earlier this year when thousands of protesters converged on the sleepy Texas town of 700 people. Residents complained of noise and traffic congestion prompting commissioners to act, said Stephen Hendrick, a spokesman for the McLennan County Commissioners Court.

One ordinance bans parking along all 14 roads within a five-mile radius around the ranch. The other prohibits camping or placing portable toilets in any county ditch.

Hendrick said the commissioners' main concern was safety, citing one incident where a truck ran off the road and knocked down a row of crosses.

"If that had been a tent, someone could have been killed," Hendrick said.

Jim Harrington, a lawyer for Sheehan, called the county's justification for the ban "bullshit." He said the area where the demonstrations were being held has sparse traffic.

"This is typical of the shenanigans they have been up to. They are bound and determined to keep her away from the Bush ranch," Harrington said. "The triangle where they picket is off the road. It's crazy."

Sheehan said that the ordinances were an unconstitutional attempt to suppress dissent. She said the upcoming demonstration will be an act of civil disobedience and that later she plans to challenge the ordinances in court. While Sheehan said that she is not planning on getting arrested, she is willing.

Hendrick said the county would not prevent protesters from picketing. Protesters can shuttle into the area to demonstrate as long as they did not park alongside the road or set up tents in ditches, he said.

Harrington said that the situation was a Catch-22. Health officials require protesters to provide the same portable toilets which the ordinance bans.

Sheehan said she chose to hold the demonstration on Thanksgiving because Bush will be returning to Crawford for the weekend.

"We want to raise awareness that the person who vacations in Crawford is waging an illegal and immoral war, and he has refused to answer our question," Sheehan said.

After Thanksgiving Sheehan said she will continue to travel the country speaking out against the Iraq War, where her son, Casey, was killed. On Dec. 7 she will fly to Madrid to speak at a peace conference.