Thousands gather in peaceful protest

Analysis:

This channel 8 story is based upon the protest held on April 20 in East Grand Rapids during Bush’s speech on Iraq. The story begins with comments from the EGR police department who were surprised by the turnout and stated that the protesters were “not unruly.” What do you think the police meant by unruly? The story did mention that former CIA analyst Ray McGovern spoke at the demonstration and that the protest was organized by ACTIVATE GR. The story does not cite any of the comments made by McGovern or ACTIVATE, but do cite a high school student and another protester. Do the comments by both protesters help viewers understand why people chose to protest the President’s speech?

Story:

Between 1000 – 2000 people gathered in John Collins Park along Reeds Lake to protest the appearance of President George W. Bush, far more than police officials expected.

East Grand Rapids Director of Public Safety Mark Herald told 24 Hour News 8 the unusually large number or protesters was unexpected, but not unruly.

Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst who once confronted Donald Rumsfeld in a press conference about the conduct of the war, was the main speaker at the protest, organized locally by the group Activate GR.

Many students from both East Grand Rapids High School and Aquinas College were at the protest, shouting their displeasure about the US war in Iraq. The crowd was loud, banging drums at one point.

High school students who spoke with 24 Hour News 8 said it was worth it to leave school and attend the protest. “There were way more people than I expected,” said Katie Lorenz. “It was an intelligent gathering. I’m really glad I did it.”

Security was very visible, but the demonstration was peaceful. Many of the crowd moved from the park to the front of the school in an effort to glimpse the president as he left. A scroll was unrolled with a list of Americans who died in Iraq.

“The number of people who died is dreadful and the fact that each one is the loss of a relative or a friend or a neighbor,” said protester Palmer Morrel-Samules. “That’s a really important issue to keep in mind.”