Two anti-torture protesters were arrested at former Vice President Dick Cheney’s Virginia home Saturday, after they walked onto his property to mark the 14th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay prison and refused to leave.
Reuters reported that a group of about 20 from the anti-war group Code Pink were protesting on the property before police arrived and asked them to leave. The two members who refused to go were arrested on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.
The Daily Caller reported that most of the group only spent about 20 minutes at Cheney’s house before moving the protest to the C.I.A. building.
Cheney is largely seen as the man responsible for Guantanamo and for the controversial torture tactics used there, as revealed by the Senate torture report in December. The New York Times editorial board has even called for Cheney to be prosecuted for these acts.
The protesters dressed in orange jumpsuits with black hoods over their faces as they marched down the street. One man carried a large replica of a drone and another was dressed as a giant Cheney bobblehead, the DC reported.
The protest at the CIA building lasted about an hour and included two speakers on the need to close Guantanamo Bay and the inefficiency and inhumanity of torture.
Guanatanamo Bay still holds 127 detainees, despite President Barack Obama’s repeated promises to close the facility, Reuters reported. But he has made it a priority for his lame duck session and recently said that he would do “everything I can” to close it.
