Protesters Visit Obama office in Oakland on Primary Day

Approximately twelve protesters entered the campaign office of Barack Obama on February 5, just two hours before the poles closed. The protesters, from a group called Direct Action to Stop the War (DASW) issued a set of demands to the staff of the campaign headquarters, saying that “no democratic candidate should take the peace community’s support for granted.”

The protesters were met with hostility upon entering the office, with several of the staff members shouting at them and threatening to call the police. “This is private property and if you don’t leave, you will all be arrested,” one said with her cell phone to her ear.

The protesters gave the campaign headquarters a list of ten demands that included that Obama "publicly oppose the use of military force against Iran or Pakistan" and that he "oppose the opening of another front in the "war on terror." The list also included full funding of the reconstruction of Iraq, the cessation of any funding for the war other than troop withdrawal, the repeal of the Military Commission Act, and the immediate release and reparations of detainees held in Guantanamo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Tensions rose for approximately five minutes until the protesters agreed to step outside the office to discuss their demands with one of the staff members. “Our candidate wants to include everyone’s concerns in his presidency,” she said and assured the protesters that their demands "would be communicated."

“If any candidate does not guarantee the withdraw all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan," one protester told the staff member, "you can expect a lot more actions like this on a much larger scale,” he said.

The police did not appear on the scene and no arrests were made.