Thirty-two arrested in Washington antiwar protest

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty-two people were arrested on Wednesday when they tried to block entrances to the Internal Revenue Service in protests marking the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, police said.

Protesters also picketed news organizations and defence contractors and blocked traffic in several antiwar events across the country as the Iraq war entered its sixth year.

On the National Mall, about 100 protesters carried signs that read "The Endlessness Justifies the Meaninglessness" and waved upside-down U.S. flags, a traditional sign of distress.

"Bush and Cheney, leaders failed, Bush and Cheney belong in jail," they chanted, referring to U.S. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Protesters had hoped to shut down the IRS, the U.S. tax collection agency, to highlight the cost of the war. Police cleared the building's entrances within an hour.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Ernestine Fubbs said 32 people were arrested when they crossed barriers set up by police. Other police officials said the event was nonviolent.

One hour after the IRS standoff, several dozen protesters waved signs that said "Stop Paying to Kill" and "How Much Longer?" as a ragtag brass band played. IRS employees were easily able to enter the building.

"We wanted to put our bodies between the money and what that money goes to fund -- the war, the occupation, the bombs," said Frida Berrigan, an organizer with the War Resisters League.