Scores arrested in protest at White House

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Sixty-one people, including anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan, were arrested Monday during a demonstration outside the White House, U.S. Park Police said.

An estimated 500 people gathered at the White House to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to request a meeting with President Barack Obama, CNN reported. Some of the demonstrators chained themselves to the White House fence and some lay prone on the sidewalk as if they were dead, while others chanted "mourn the dead, heal the wounded, end the war" CNN said.

Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser said 61 people were arrested for failure to obey a lawful order when demonstrators disregarded repeated requests to move back from the sidewalk. He said those arrested were cited and released, CNN reported.

Sheehan became a well-known war protester in 2004 after her son, Casey, was killed in Iraq and she waged a public campaign to try to get former President George W. Bush to explain to her why her son died.

"I think the mood of the country and the mood of our movement is getting a little bit more desperate, and (that) this will be the time to be able to translate our tireless activism and work for peace," Sheehan said on CNN Monday.