Republican National Convention

ST. PAUL (AP) ― Some 10,000 anti-war protesters who marched peacefully through the streets of St. Paul on Monday to urge the U.S. to get out of Iraq were left hoping the rampaging actions of a group of self-proclaimed anarchists didn't steal their show.

Authorities arrested more than 200 people during and after a march from the Capitol to the Xcel Energy Center, the host arena for the Republican National Convention. Some of those arrested shattered storefront windows, pushed burning Dumpsters into police cars and slashed tires.

"There's a time and a place, I think, for clashing with the police. I don't think the Republican National Convention is that serious of an event that it would call for that kind of action," said Sarah Rothschild, who came to St. Paul from Chicago with a group of Teamsters and their families to participate in the march.

She added: "We all look silly. We all look ridiculous because some 20-year-old kid did something ridiculous."

Organizers and participants of the march took pride in the fact that there were no major incidents with such a large crowd of protesters walking through streets lined with hundreds of officers in riot gear.

"Our plan all along was that people aren't coming here to cause fights or get into trouble," said Jess Sundin, one of the lead organizers for the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War. "Our group stayed very focused on the war and the need to stop it."

Things looked ominous at the beginning, when a group of about 100 students started the march early and roamed the route toward the Xcel Center. When they reached that point and were confronted by a group of counter-protesters carrying signs like "Victory Over Terrorism" and "Stop the 60s Juggernaut," however, a group of about 15 broke into a spontaneous "Electric Slide" line dance to Madonna's "Like A Virgin."

As the rest of the march progressed, the event took on an almost parade-like atmosphere rather than the electricity-charged political protest expected. A group called "CodePink" sang and danced between chants, toting four 15-foot tall puppets along the way.

There were other mascots -- models of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld all in chains and prison garb -- but there was little interaction with scores of police keeping a watchful eye over the procession.

"I didn't witness any violence. I didn't see police provoking us. It seemed to be pretty peaceful," said 27-year-old Dan Pearson, who was part of a group of six people who left Chicago on July 12 and walked 492 miles to St. Paul to participate in the march and protest the U.S. involvement in Iraq.

Pearson said he didn't think the actions of a few who left the march route to cause trouble throughout downtown St. Paul would detract from the message they wanted to deliver on Monday.

But St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman wasn't so sure.

"The vast majority of the people who marched today, marched so peacefully," Coleman said. "They were able to have their voices heard. But unfortunately those voices were somewhat muted by the criminal activities of a handful of folks."

Sundin proclaimed the march "very successful," despite the actions of a rogue faction.

"We said all along, if people wanted to do something other than march in a peaceful march, then they should leave the march," Sundin said.

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