Posted on Wed, Jul. 21, 2004 Hoeffel arrested in protest at embassy
He was demonstrating against what he sees as genocide in the African country of Sudan.
By Lara Jakes Jordan
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel was arrested yesterday outside the Sudanese Embassy, becoming the third congressman in a week charged with protesting what they described as genocide in the African nation.
Hoeffel was joined by his wife, Francesca, and comedian-turned-activist Dick Gregory in the highly choreographed midday arrest amid a crowd of about 30 protesters singing "We Shall Not be Moved."
"What is happening in the Sudan is genocide," said Hoeffel, a Democrat and member of the House International Relations Committee who is running for the U.S. Senate against Republican Arlen Specter. His 13th District encompasses parts of northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County...
[...]
Specter's camp accused Hoeffel of grandstanding for publicity. The senator introduced a 1997 religious freedom law that "provides sanctions for situations like we face today in the Sudan," Specter's campaign manager, Christopher Nicholas, said. Specter visited Sudan in 2002, and has repeatedly written Secretary of State Colin Powell about the current bloodshed.
― Kingfish von Bandersnatch (Kingfish), Wednesday, 21 July 2004 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)