March 19, 2008: five years since the George W. Bush's war on Iraq began. Act Against Torture joined a revived Direct Action Against the War (DASW) for a day of loosely coordinated street actions throughout downtown. From Indybay: "Independent media activists came together to broadcast a radio station and DASW had a webcam broadcasting video. Volunteers provided legal assistance. Affinity groups came back together for another day in the streets, putting their bodies on the line to remind the world that torture has been a way of life for the Bush administration. Bike contingents and snake marches wove in and out of crowds, providing assistance to protesters and facing an equal risk of arrest. The police responded by swiftly arresting approximately 150 people - including protesters and media - at several sites. Four Codepink protesters were detained after allegedly hanging a banner from the Golden Gate Bridge, while paintballs were anonymously thrown at several corporate targets."

Act Against Torture spent the morning doing theater at BART stations and cable car turnarounds, made a brief foray into Nieman Marcus, then joined a much larger group doing a die-in in the street in front of Dianne Feinstein's office building. Twenty from AAT were arrested in jumpsuits, hoods and chains. Initially charged with felony conspiracy (only the AAT arrestees were charged with conspiracy - no other group from the action), but the felonies were later dropped. Misdemeanor charges are pending.

Only a few of many, many photos posted of the days events are included on this page. Links to IndyBay postings, videos, lots more photos, and mainstreem news coverage can be found on our press page.