Protesters Greet Bush at Human Trafficking Conference
Update July 21, 2004
TAMPA
- While the White House insisted that Bush's Friday morning visit to Tampa
was an official policy appearance, several dozens of protestors outside the
Marriott Waterside said they believed the event was nothing more than a taxpayer-funded
campaign stop.
Bush flew into Tampa for less than two hours to speak at the first-ever
conference on 'Human Trafficking'. Before Air
Force One had even touched down at the airport, the Protestors were hoisting
signs and shouting chants of "four more months."
"The days of George W. Bush in the White House are numbered! George W. Bush STOLE the election and it's been downhill ever since," Tom Squires said.
The Protestors were from a range of groups, including MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, Voice of Freedom (Joe Redner) and more.
Some of the demonstrators said they were there to show support for Bush's opponent in this fall's election, Sen. John Kerry. Others who were there to Protest the War in Iraq said they have seen a noticeable shift in public attitude regarding the war.
AS PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN TAMPA, LOCAL ACTIVIST LINKS BUSH TO ANTICHRIST WITH PROMINENT BANNER
July 15, 2004 Tampa, FL – Attendees arriving at the Marriott Waterside hotel to hear President Bush speak in Tampa this Friday will have one very big question to answer, courtesy of a 30-foot sign. On a building directly across the street from the hotel, long-time area political activist and millionaire businessman Joe Redner will unfurl a giant banner that asks: Is George Bush the Anti-Christ?
Redner, who owns the warehouse on South Florida Avenue where the sign will hang, is out to promote the theory that Bush could potentially be the Anti-Christ, a figure some Christians believe will establish a one world government before triggering the apocalyptic end of Earth.
"I think everyone should go read Revelations and see if he meets the criteria,” said Redner. “The Antichrist, by definition, is a master deceiver. Here we’ve got a president who has fooled the public into a war to occupy ancient Babylon. If that doesn’t fit the bill, I don’t know what does."
This isn’t the first time that Redner has tried to send a message to President Bush. When the president attended a 2002 campaign rally for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Redner was arrested because he refused to confine his protests to a “protest zone.” It has become common practice at presidential appearances for law enforcement authorities to restrict protests to a designated zone, usually in a remote location. At the 2002 rally where Redner was arrested, he claims the protest zone was positioned more than a quarter of a mile from the event. “I call them free speech cages,” said Redner, who is currently suing the Secret Service to challenge the constitutionality of protest zones.
While Redner will probably have the largest sign at the event, he won’t be alone. Bay Area organizers estimate that 500 to 1,000 protesters will greet the president’s motorcade. Advocacy groups Moveon.org, America Coming Together, Planned Parenthood, and the Sierra Club have all mobilized their members for the visit. Redner, who is a candidate for the Hillsborough County Commission, doesn’t know if authorities will interfere with the protesters on Friday. “Maybe they’ll haul us all off to a protest pen, but they can’t do a thing about my sign.”