Eighty Arrested at Protests Calling for Closure of Gitmo
The Associated Press
Washington - Eighty people were arrested at the Supreme Court Friday in a protest calling for the shutdown of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Demonstrators wearing orange jump suits intended to simulate prison garb were arrested inside and outside the building in the early afternoon. "Shut it down," protesters chanted as others kneeled on the plaza in front of the court.
They were charged with violating an ordinance that prohibits demonstrations of any kind on court grounds. Those arrested inside the building also were charged under a provision that makes it a crime to give "a harangue or oration" in the Supreme Court building.
The maximum penalty is 60 days in jail, a fine or both.
The court is considering whether prisoners still detained at Guantanamo Bay have a right to challenge their confinement in U.S. courts.
Officials briefly closed the court building during the protest. It reopened around 2 p.m. EST.
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