"Three more anti-war protesters were arrested Wednesday at the Charlottesville office of U.S. Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr., R-Rocky Mount.

About 30 people gathered in and around the South First Street office on Wednesday afternoon, singing, walking on stilts, beating on buckets and holding protest signs.

Code Pink, a group of women opposed to the war, organized the event.

At about 4:15, a city police officer told the protesters they would be arrested if they didn't leave the office when it closed.

At about 4:30 p.m., several officers carried Mary Grace, Jennifer Connor and Priscilla Sonne from the building.

The three were willing to be arrested, and had said they intended to stay in the office until Goode responded to a request to sign a pledge against additional funding for the war. They were charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor.

Three other protesters were arrested Feb. 21 under similar circumstances, and are due in court today.

Event organizers said the protests would continue each week until March 19, when the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice will hold a protest march from the University of Virginia to the Downtown Mall.

Goode, the 5th District representative, was in Washington on. Wednesday. He continues to oppose Democrats' efforts to restrict the president's ability to wage the war." (The Daily Progress, March 1, 2007)