By late afternoon March 19, the intersection of Oak Street and Michigan Avenue featured only a few shoppers and tourists making their way through the drizzle. This scene was in stark contrast to what transpired just a few hours earlier at the same corner, as police and anti-war protesters engaged in a clash that resulted in arrests.
The rally, which began on the Magnificent Mile and ended at Federal Plaza, was one of many that took place globally to mark the second anniversary of the war in Iraq. More than 1,500 U.S. soldiers have lost their lives during this period.
At noon, hundreds of anti-war demonstrators had gathered to march down Michigan Avenue—in defiance of a federal judge's order to not commit such an act. A police officer read from an official order to disperse, warning protesters to either take an alternate route to Federal Plaza or be arrested. After issuing another warning, police arrested a few people, including gay activist Andy Thayer, one of the rally organizers.
At the Federal Plaza rally, speakers reminded the crowd that U.S. forces have yet to uncover weapons of mass destruction and that an insurgency continues to plague much of Iraq, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., an outspoken opponent of the war, and Lila Lipscomb, the mother of a U.S. soldier who died in Iraq, were among those who spoke. About 1,000 people attended the rally.
About two dozen supporters of the war stood across the street from the plaza.