Actor, Clergymen Arrested in Protest of Salvador Policy

More than 300 demonstrators staged a mock funeral for six Jesuit priests killed in El Salvador while others chained themselves to the doors of the downtown Los Angeles Federal Building in a noisy protest Wednesday at which 64 people were arrested.

Actor Martin Sheen and several clergymen were among those arrested. The protesters attacked what they called the “war-making policies” of the U.S. government in El Salvador and demanded an end to military aid to the Central American country.

The protest was part of several nationwide demonstrations this week against U.S. support for the government of President Alfredo Cristiani. More than 400 people have been arrested in the demonstrations, including 277 in a two-day protest in San Francisco that ended Tuesday.

Protest organizers said they hope the demonstrations will lead to a dramatic shift in U.S. public opinion on El Salvador. At least a dozen protests have been organized in Los Angeles since Nov. 11, when leftist urban guerrillas launched an offensive in San Salvador, the country’s capital.

The protests grew after the Jesuit priests were assassinated last week by gunmen wearing military uniforms.

“Up to now, the (Bush) Administration has had credibility in the eyes of people who simply do not know what is happening in El Salvador,” said Father Luis Olivares, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels Church. “Our hope is that through these demonstrations . . . the American people can become conscious of the slaughter that has been going on in El Salvador for the past 10 years.”

Organizers said Wednesday’s Los Angeles demonstration was unique because it brought together leading clergymen from various faiths, including the Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal and Methodist churches.

Olivares, the Rev. James M. Lawson--a Methodist pastor and long-time civil rights advocate--and 10 Jesuit priests from the Los Angeles area were among those arrested, said Mary Brent Wehrli of the Southern California Ecumenical Council, one of several groups that organized the protest.

Los Angeles Catholic Archbishop Roger Mahony also attended the demonstration, but did not block the doors and risk arrest. He said he needed to remain free so he can travel to San Salvador on Saturday.

“I am going to express solidarity with the bishops of the United States to the bishops of El Salvador and to distribute food and medical supplies through the archbishops there,” Mahony said.

The protest began shortly before 8 a.m., when demonstrators began chaining themselves to the glass doors of the Federal Building on Los Angeles Street. Federal police directed employees who were arriving for work to a side entrance during the two-hour protest.

Sheen was arrested with the others and taken into the building’s lobby to be handcuffed and photographed before being transported to federal holding facilities.

Sheen has been arrested at least 18 times for civil disobedience, including anti-nuclear protests. Before his arrest Wednesday, Sheen said he felt Nov. 22 was a fitting date for the demonstration.

“On the 26th anniversary of (President) John Kennedy’s death and in celebration of his life, I chose to do this,” he said.

The 64 protesters were cited for trespassing on federal property and released on $25 bail, said Mary Filippini, a spokeswoman for the Federal Protective Service.

Besides protests in Los Angeles and San Francisco, 52 people were arrested Tuesday for blocking the entrances to federal buildings in Olympia and Bellingham, Wash. In Minneapolis, 17 people were arrested in a demonstration in which a police officer was struck in the face with a board and knocked unconscious.

Staff photographer Ken Lubas contributed to this story.