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Student protests, 1972-1973

1972-05-12 Iowa City Press-Citizen Article: ""I-80 Target of Organized Protesters"" Page 1

P.C May 12, 1972
I-80 Target Of Organized Protesters

By Mark F. Rohner Of the Press-Citizen

Tear gas broke up a "blockade for peace" across Interstate 80 here Thursday night after a well-organized group of protesters led antiwar marchers through wide areas of the city. Trekking through a rugged wooded area at the north edge of the city, a group of 50 to 100 protesters spilled onto the freeway, where they remained about five minutes. Interstate traffic, halted by the Iowa Highway Patrol to protect the human roadblock, clogged the road for about a mile until it resumed at a crawl after 15 minutes. 
There was scattered violence, but little property damage, during the night's demonstration, the third outbreak of antiwar protest here in a week.  Persons involved in the blockade have vowed to continue their protest daily until they succeed in shutting off Interstate 80 as a symbolic protest of President Nixon's "blockade for war." "As long as necessary, " the Highway Patrol will remain quartered here in case of future outbreaks, according to a patrol spokesman. 
Seventeen demonstrators were arrested, all but one of them in the area where the interstate blockade occurred east of the Prairie du Chien Road bridge over the highway. Several demonstrators and police officers were injured, but only one, a youth arrested in the blockade, required hospital treatment. Two fires were set downtown during the night, and rocks flew in at least two locations where the crowd of about 500 confronted police.
 The confrontations took place on North Dubuque Street, where marchers were stopped on their way to the interstate, and on Prairie du Chien Road, where they headed about 10:30 p.m. in a second attempt, this time successful, the reach the highway.
 Waiting for them at the Prairie du Chien Road bridge were several busloads of policemen. An Iowa National Guard helicopter hovered overhead. The crown eluded police lines at two points along Prairie du Chien, but most of the protesters were stopped about two blocks south of the interstate. Some of the , however, stole through the woods overlooking the highway and emerged on the pavement.
 A flooding mounted on the helicopter picked them out, and they were routed by the police. Loud reports came from the highway as lawmen fired about 15 long-range tear gas projectiles into the woods. A "pepper fogger" followed up to lay down another cloud of the gas as protesters and on-lookers, tears streaming down their faces, began to flee the scene.
 Gas masked police charged in pursuit and several were struck by rocks. An officer with a riot stick cracked one bearded straggler on the leg, then used the stick to trip him and ran off as the protester lay at the side of the road.
 Another demonstrator used a long pole bearing a Viet Cong flag to joust with two policemen who warded off his blows with their clubs. 
Broken into small groups, the protesters made for the downtown area, and later regrouped around a blazing trash barrel at the Pentacrest, where the protest had begun about four hours earlier. 
The gathering at the Pentacrest grew slowly during the early evening to about 500 by 8:30 p.m. Four Viet Cong flags fluttered above the crowd as an organizer mounted the Old Capitol steps to urge the crowd to begin marching. 
"Our brothers in Minnesota had a riot, and we haven't done a thing," he declared. "Nixon blockaded for war. We'll have a blockade for peace." he said. In contrast to the two earlier protests this past week, in which crowds at first were reluctant to move off the Pentacrest, the crowd Thursday night rapidly assented to the plan to march to Interstate 80.
 Highway flares were passed out to some of the marchers providing an indication of organization behind the blockade plan. They circled the campus to urge dormitory residents to "join us." then marched north. The crowd fled slowly uphill to the intersection of Dubuque and Brown Streets. Someone in a fraternity house on Dubuque drowned out the fogger's noise by turning on a stereo. 
As demonstrators talked to Highway Patrolmen about their fears that Nixon's latest Vietnam move would touch off World War III, the stereo played a nearly forgotten record from the mid 1960s, "Eve of Destruction." 
Patrolmen repeatedly told demonstrators, "You are not going to block the interstate. Somebody is going to get hurt."
One later told an onlooker "I tried to explain to them that we understand why they're doing this, but this is not the way."

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P.C May 12, 1972 I-80 Target Of Organized Protesters By Mark F. Rohner Of the Press-Citizen Tear gas broke up a "blockade for peace" across Interstate 80 here Thursday night after a well-organized group of protesters led antiwar marchers through wide areas of the city. Trekking through a rugged wooded area at the north edge of the city, a group of 50 to 100 protesters spilled onto the freeway, where they remained about five minutes. Interstate traffic, halted by the Iowa Highway Patrol to protect the human roadblock, clogged the road for about a mile until it resumed at a crawl after 15 minutes. There was scattered violence, but little property damage, during the night's demonstration, the third outbreak of antiwar protest here in a week. Persons involved in the blockade have vowed to continue their protest daily until they succeed in shutting off Interstate 80 as a symbolic protest of President Nixon's "blockade for war." "As long as necessary, " the Highway Patrol will remain quartered here in case of future outbreaks, according to a patrol spokesman. Seventeen demonstrators were arrested, all but one of them in the area where the interstate blockade occurred east of the Prairie du Chien Road bridge over the highway. Several demonstrators and police officers were injured, but only one, a youth arrested in the blockade, required hospital treatment. Two fires were set downtown during the night, and rocks flew in at least two locations where the crowd of about 500 confronted police. The confrontations took place on North Dubuque Street, where marchers were stopped on their way to the interstate, and on Prairie du Chien Road, where they headed about 10:30 p.m. in a second attempt, this time successful, the reach the highway. Waiting for them at the Prairie du Chien Road bridge were several busloads of policemen. An Iowa National Guard helicopter hovered overhead. The crown eluded police lines at two points along Prairie du Chien, but most of the protesters were stopped about two blocks south of the interstate. Some of the , however, stole through the woods overlooking the highway and emerged on the pavement. A flooding mounted on the helicopter picked them out, and they were routed by the police. Loud reports came from the highway as lawmen fired about 15 long-range tear gas projectiles into the woods. A "pepper fogger" followed up to lay down another cloud of the gas as protesters and on-lookers, tears streaming down their faces, began to flee the scene. Gas masked police charged in pursuit and several were struck by rocks. An officer with a riot stick cracked one bearded straggler on the leg, then used the stick to trip him and ran off as the protester lay at the side of the road. Another demonstrator used a long pole bearing a Viet Cong flag to joust with two policemen who warded off his blows with their clubs. Broken into small groups, the protesters made for the downtown area, and later regrouped around a blazing trash barrel at the Pentacrest, where the protest had begun about four hours earlier. The gathering at the Pentacrest grew slowly during the early evening to about 500 by 8:30 p.m. Four Viet Cong flags fluttered above the crowd as an organizer mounted the Old Capitol steps to urge the crowd to begin marching. "Our brothers in Minnesota had a riot, and we haven't done a thing," he declared. "Nixon blockaded for war. We'll have a blockade for peace." he said. In contrast to the two earlier protests this past week, in which crowds at first were reluctant to move off the Pentacrest, the crowd Thursday night rapidly assented to the plan to march to Interstate 80. Highway flares were passed out to some of the marchers providing an indication of organization behind the blockade plan. They circled the campus to urge dormitory residents to "join us." then marched north. The crowd fled slowly uphill to the intersection of Dubuque and Brown Streets. Someone in a fraternity house on Dubuque drowned out the fogger's noise by turning on a stereo. As demonstrators talked to Highway Patrolmen about their fears that Nixon's latest Vietnam move would touch off World War III, the stereo played a nearly forgotten record from the mid 1960s, "Eve of Destruction." Patrolmen repeatedly told demonstrators, "You are not going to block the interstate. Somebody is going to get hurt." One later told an onlooker "I tried to explain to them that we understand why they're doing this, but this is not the way."