550 Arrested at CIA in Protest of Central America, Africa Policies

More than 550 demonstrators--including several familiar figures from the anti-war movement of the 1960s--were arrested Monday as they tried to block entrances to CIA headquarters in a five-hour protest against Reagan Administration policies in Central America and southern Africa.

Among those arrested in the nonviolent protest, which began before dawn at the agency’s headquarters in suburban Langley, Va., were anti-war activists Daniel Ellsberg, a former Pentagon employee who provided the classified Pentagon Papers to the news media during the Vietnam War, and Philip F. Berrigan, a former Catholic priest who once was imprisoned for his anti-war activities.

Crowd ‘Very Orderly’

For roughly an hour, morning rush-hour traffic near the facility was backed up about a mile in all directions as protesters massed at the gates. Fairfax County police officer Bill Coulter estimated the total crowd at 1,250, and described it as “very orderly.”

Arrests were carried out by the county police, U.S. Park Police and Federal Protective Service. Those who were arrested had come forward in a succession of small groups to block the facility’s three entrances.

Most were charged with obstructing the free passage of others, a misdemeanor carrying a $50 fine. Those who refused to identify themselves were put in jail, Coulter said, adding that the county police had 92 demonstrators in custody.

At one point, eight protesters “mooned” the complex, baring bottoms that had been painted to spell out “No Reagan.”

CIA spokeswoman Kathy Pherson said that the protesters had little effect on work inside the headquarters. “It’s pretty much business as usual,” she said.

She added: “The CIA has employees who work around the world to help protect the liberties that we all enjoy and that includes freedom of speech. We respect the right of the demonstrators to express their views in a lawful and peaceful way.”

Ellsberg Addresses Group

Ellsberg told the crowd: “This building is filled with people who know what they’re doing is wrong.”

The protest was organized by the National Mobilization for Justice and Peace in Central America and Southern Africa, a coalition of labor, religious, student and anti-war organizations. It capped three days of demonstrations that began with a march by an estimated 75,000 people from the White House to Capitol Hill.

A spokeswoman said it proved that people are willing to “put their bodies on the line” against Administration foreign policy.