Easter Mass Disrupted In Chicago

Yet another reason for me to despise Chicago.

Six people were arrested at Holy Name parish's auditorium Sunday after disrupting an Easter mass to protest the Iraq war.

The group—whose female and male members identified themselves as Catholic Schoolgirls Against the War—stood up at the beginning of Cardinal Francis George's homily and shouted their opposition to the conflict, which marked its fifth anniversary last week. As security guards and ushers tried to remove them from the service, the demonstrators squirted fake blood on themselves and parishioners dressed in their Easter finery.

The red substance, which one protester later described as "stage blood," initially drew gasps and a few terrified yelps from the 600 worshipers at the mass. The shock, however, quickly transformed into anger as people booed the six while they were escorted from the parish auditorium. [...]

The protesters were all charged with felony criminal damage to property and two counts of simple battery for squirting the blood around the auditorium and onto worshipers' clothes, authorities said. Chicago police identified the six arrested as Donte D. Smith, 18; Ephran Ramirez Jr., 22; Ryane Ziemba, 25; Mercedes Phinaih, 18; Regan Maher, 25; and Angela Haban, 20.

I know that I'm not the only Veteran at our parish, and if one of these "targets" would have done this near me, I would have put him or her down (equal rights, after all). We don't have security at our church, and I don't expect that the ushers have trained for such an attack, but I know that our parishioners would have stepped-up.

I'll wait to see how these six idiots are dealt with by the Illinois legal system, but I won't be surprised if the felonies are pled down to misdemeanors, and if the Catholic Schoolgirls (with three males?) end up with nothing more than fines.

Man, I hate Chicago.

USMC 9971 OUT