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Anti-Bush Protesters in Georgia
Aired January 15, 2004 - 15:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We've been telling you about the president of the United States and a rather controversial visit today to Atlanta, specifically the crypt of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on this, the 75th anniversary of his birth.
CNN's Brian Cabell is there. He joins us on the line now. And quite a few protesters have shown up.
Brian, what is the scene?
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an unusual situation here, Miles.
Normally, as you know, during presidential visits, they have so- called free speech zones, basically penned areas where demonstrators are allowed to demonstrate. In this particular case, the zone is about 150 yards away from where the president will be, which is right near Martin Luther King's crypt, but the people have so far refused to go back there. They are directly across the street from where the president will be within the next hour.
I would say there are about 300 people now with signs, chanting. And there have been a few incidents with police so far, where the police have attempted to push them back. They have resisted. One person has been arrested so far. And, as you say, the basic issue here for so many people, they feel this is an exercise in hypocrisy by the president. They feel that Martin Luther King represented certain things that Mr. Bush does not.
So that is the reason for some of the hostility here. That's the reason for the relatively large crowd. And what we're awaiting right now is what the police will do next. They've moved buses in front of the demonstrators so far. But, at this point, the president will be literally about 50 yards away for this -- this crowd of some 300 to 400 demonstrators are right now.
O'BRIEN: I suspect, Brian, that, if the Secret Service weighs in on that, they might say that's not such a good idea. You have any indication as to whether that would thwart the president's plans in any way?
CABELL: We don't know. We see an awful lot of conferring on the streets between the police and also folks in suits, whom we presume to be Secret Service.
There is a look of concern, though. There has been some conversation. But precisely what they're going to do, we don't know. Exactly when the president will get here, we don't know. Perhaps they'll push them back right before then. At this point, though, they are not. As I say, they're about 50 yards away. And the people are there chanting. I suspect, if they bring buses in front of them, they will continue chanting and try to get on each other's shoulders. That's what some of them are doing right now.
So it's a crowd so far resisting the plans that the Secret Service has laid out.
O'BRIEN: Talk about a nightmare for the White House advance office. How much anger is there in that crowd? And is there a high level of concern among the authorities?
CABELL: I would not say it's terribly angry, Miles. But people don't understand why they can't stand across the street from where the president's going to be, across the street from Martin Luther King's tomb. That doesn't make sense to them.
Of course, we've seen this on in other cities, so it's not unusual. But with this particular city in this particular city, people simply don't understand. It doesn't make sense to them, because the zone that they would be relegated to, as I say, is a good 150 yards away, totally out of sight of where President Bush will be.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Brian Cabell live on the line with us from Atlanta, keeping us posted on what appears to be a developing situation, as protesters there at the crypt of Dr. Martin Luther King, there to meet the president, the security not so happy about their placement.
We'll keep you posted as that one unfolds.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 15, 2004 - 15:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We've been telling you about the president of the United States and a rather controversial visit today to Atlanta, specifically the crypt of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on this, the 75th anniversary of his birth.
CNN's Brian Cabell is there. He joins us on the line now. And quite a few protesters have shown up.
Brian, what is the scene?
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an unusual situation here, Miles.
Normally, as you know, during presidential visits, they have so- called free speech zones, basically penned areas where demonstrators are allowed to demonstrate. In this particular case, the zone is about 150 yards away from where the president will be, which is right near Martin Luther King's crypt, but the people have so far refused to go back there. They are directly across the street from where the president will be within the next hour.
I would say there are about 300 people now with signs, chanting. And there have been a few incidents with police so far, where the police have attempted to push them back. They have resisted. One person has been arrested so far. And, as you say, the basic issue here for so many people, they feel this is an exercise in hypocrisy by the president. They feel that Martin Luther King represented certain things that Mr. Bush does not.
So that is the reason for some of the hostility here. That's the reason for the relatively large crowd. And what we're awaiting right now is what the police will do next. They've moved buses in front of the demonstrators so far. But, at this point, the president will be literally about 50 yards away for this -- this crowd of some 300 to 400 demonstrators are right now.
O'BRIEN: I suspect, Brian, that, if the Secret Service weighs in on that, they might say that's not such a good idea. You have any indication as to whether that would thwart the president's plans in any way?
CABELL: We don't know. We see an awful lot of conferring on the streets between the police and also folks in suits, whom we presume to be Secret Service.
There is a look of concern, though. There has been some conversation. But precisely what they're going to do, we don't know. Exactly when the president will get here, we don't know. Perhaps they'll push them back right before then. At this point, though, they are not. As I say, they're about 50 yards away. And the people are there chanting. I suspect, if they bring buses in front of them, they will continue chanting and try to get on each other's shoulders. That's what some of them are doing right now.
So it's a crowd so far resisting the plans that the Secret Service has laid out.
O'BRIEN: Talk about a nightmare for the White House advance office. How much anger is there in that crowd? And is there a high level of concern among the authorities?
CABELL: I would not say it's terribly angry, Miles. But people don't understand why they can't stand across the street from where the president's going to be, across the street from Martin Luther King's tomb. That doesn't make sense to them.
Of course, we've seen this on in other cities, so it's not unusual. But with this particular city in this particular city, people simply don't understand. It doesn't make sense to them, because the zone that they would be relegated to, as I say, is a good 150 yards away, totally out of sight of where President Bush will be.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Brian Cabell live on the line with us from Atlanta, keeping us posted on what appears to be a developing situation, as protesters there at the crypt of Dr. Martin Luther King, there to meet the president, the security not so happy about their placement.
We'll keep you posted as that one unfolds.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
