Sheehan and Others Converge Upon Matsui's Home

(Sacramento, CA) On Saturday, May 5th, Cindy Sheehan and members of Code Pink joined attorney activists Stephen and Virginia Pearcy and many other grassroots peace activists who marched to Congresswoman Doris Matsui's home to demand that she make no more concessions to the Iraq war spending bill.

Matsui constituents in Sacramento have been extremely unsatisfied with the Congresswoman's willingness to support any more funding of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. After trying various traditional forms of contacting their representative, and later even holding sit-ins for over 40 days at the Congresswoman's office, Matsui's constituents feel largely ignored. They decided to up the ante on Saturday.

The marchers first gathered on a sidewalk in front of a Sacramento city park with signs and banners. Then they marched approximately 5 blocks to Congresswoman Matsui's home, where they conveyed their messages for about an hour. Along the way, the marchers chanted slogans, such as, "Doris Doris grow a spine, no more funding, not one dime," and, "Voters in this district say, cut the funding right away."

Stephen Pearcy, organizer of the Sacramento event, said, "We can't allow the Democrats to keep ignoring the grassroots folks who got them elected. We want all funding to stop, and we want impeachment on the table. If she and other Democrat leaders are going to force us to look for new ways to be heard, then this will be one of them."

In addition to Cindy Sheehan, many members of Code Pink were present. Some of them came all the way from the Bay Area to show their solidarity for the action. Recently, Bay Area Code Pink members have held several demonstrations in front of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's home and Senator Diane Feinstein's home in San Francisco.

Although many Congress members live in private neighborhoods or gated communities where restrictions on free speech can be imposed, Congresswoman Matsui's home is not in such an area. Therefore, Saturday's event was completely protected by the freedom of speech guaranteed by the 1st Amendment.

At one point, soon after the protesters arrived in front of Matsui's home, there was an ironic turn of events. While one of Matsui's aides was speaking with someone near the group of protesters, a woman who came to the protest with her two young daughters was in the same area. Suddenly, a small group people in that area noticed fragments of a white projectile and that one of the young girls (a 4 year-old) immediately began crying. At the same time, the Matsui aide also felt a splattering on his clothing. Upon closer inspection, he and others realized that they had been hit with an egg.

Fortunately, nobody, including the young girl, was injured. But a direct hit could have been serious. The young girl's mother phoned police, and two Sacramento police sergeants arrived in separate cars. After Matsui's aide spoke with officers, they conducted a door-to-door inquiry in the immediate area. But no suspects were identified, and the police left.

Even before the police arrived, the event continued as peacefully as it had started. There were two guitar players and a large group singing along. Many people held signs and displays showing opposition to any additional Iraq occupation funding, and others wanted Matsui to know that they want impechment "on the table." There was also a flag-draped coffin with a sign that read, "Doris: Stop Funding This!"

While Fox news was interviewing Matsui's aide, Cindy Sheehan went to Matsui's door and knocked. There was no answer, and the blinds remained shut. Nobody knew for sure whether Matsui was home, but her aide said that she was in D.C. When he said that, a man asked, "How can we believe you if we can't even believe Doris when she says she opposes the occupation?"