Tacoma protest leads to arrests

3 from Olympia jailed in port anti-war rally

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published March 07, 2007

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The campaign by local anti-war activists to stop military use of the Port of Olympia has expanded to the north with the weekend arrival at the Port of Tacoma of Army cargo bound for Iraq.

Three people arrested during a protest involving 30 people at the Port of Tacoma early Monday are from Olympia. The group Olympia Port Militarization Resistance is collaborating with a similar resistance group just formed in Tacoma.

Tacoma police arrested Jeffery Berryhill, 22; Walter Cuddeford, 28; and Caitlin Esworthy, 24, after 12:30 a.m. They were booked on suspicion of third-degree assault, a Class C felony, and will make their first court appearance today. Bail for each person was set at $10,000. They remained in jail Monday evening.

Military convoys will continue to travel at night to the port through Friday, and activists said they would continue their protests until the ship leaves port. The brigade has approximately 1,000 vehicles, including 300 or so eight-wheeled armored Stryker vehicles, and other cargo.

The Olympia group declared victory in its campaign to keep the cargo from Olympia, although the Army was silent about why it bypassed Olympia.

TJ Johnson, an Olympia city councilman and a group leader, said in a statement that “our success in Olympia can serve as (a) powerful model and beacon of hope for other communities seeking to take direct action to end their community’s participation” in the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq.

The cargo belonging to the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division began moving from Fort Lewis to the Port of Tacoma late Friday night, according to activists.

Nearly 40 people were arrested in May during a series of protests prompted by the loading of military cargo at the Port of Olympia before the deployment of another Fort Lewis Stryker brigade. Activists expected a repeat episode here when it was announced the 4th Brigade would leave in April as part of President Bush’s strategy to deploy an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq.

“We were all under the impression that this was all headed to Olympia,” said Patrick Edelbacher, a member of Tacoma Port Militarization Resistance.

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