Hundreds held in New York anti-Bush bike protest
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-29 03:11

Thousands of cyclists snarled traffic in New York on Friday night and police said they arrested more than 250 people and confiscated their bicycles in the first significant protest against President Bush before the Republican convention.

More demonstrations were expected on Saturday, including a march across the Brooklyn Bridge organized by Planned Parenthood group to support women's constitutional right to choose an abortion and other reproductive health issues.

A protestor surrounded by police looks into the crowd before being loaded into the police wagon in New York City on August 27, 2004. The protesters were taking part in a ride under auspices of Critical Mass, a group that advocates bikes as a primary mode of transportation, to protest the upcoming Republican National Convention. [Reuters]

There were also two events planned by peace groups opposed to the Bush administration's military and diplomatic responses to the Sept. 11 attacks on America by Islamic militants.

Friday night's protest lasted several hours at a time when central Manhattan was crowded with theatergoers and people at restaurants and bars. Traffic was brought to a virtual standstill in the chaos.

Many of the protesters chanted "No more Bush" as the Republicans prepared to nominate the president at the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 convention in Madison Square Garden to run for a second White House term in the November election against Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

Police said they arrested 264 people and seized their bicycles in the protest mounted by a group called Critical Mass, which wants to boost the rights of cyclists in traffic-clogged city streets. It stages rides in cities around the world on the last Friday of each month.

The New York Police Department said in a statement that about 5,000 cyclists gathered at Union Square in Manhattan for the ride and that officers warned cyclists about breaking traffic laws.

But activists said police over-reacted and began cordoning off riders and arresting them when they broke naturally into groups after stopping at traffic lights or otherwise slowing down.

A member of "Reality Check A31 Media," which is monitoring convention protests for activists who have come to New York from all over the country, said police arrested many cyclists after they ended the ride at a church.

"The police mobilized a very big disruption and oppression and arrests," said Brad Taylor of A31, a group that has announced a series of civil disobedience actions during the convention.

The largest anti-Bush demonstration is scheduled for Sunday when an estimated 200,000 are expected to march past Madison Square Garden to decry the war in Iraq and other Bush policies under the banner "The World Says No To The Bush Agenda."

The United for Peace and Justice group organizing Sunday's march was denied a permit to rally in Central Park because city officials said a large crowd would damage the grass.

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