Police bust Up Nearly Nude Protest
Tue Mar 2, 8:48 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - Police arrested six shivering protesters on Monday after they braved cool temperatures and staged a nearly naked pillow fight outside Harvard University to promote animal rights.
The five women and one man, members of the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, were arrested on criminal misdemeanor charges, said police spokesman Frank Pasquarello.
"This is nothing compared to what the animals go through," protester Karla Waples, wearing nothing but pasties to cover her nipples and a pair of panties, shouted to reporters as she was led in handcuffs to a waiting police van.
Before their arrest, the activists chanted "Love in, Fur out" as they frolicked on a mattress outside the Ivy League school. A large crowd, including several blue-collar workers, watched the protest with broad smiles across their faces.
"We thought we'd seen it all, but this is a first," said Scott Nelson, an electrician on his lunch break.
It was the latest in a string of publicity stunts by the group, whose supporters include former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson (news - web sites). Just last month, PETA members staged a topless Valentine's Day (news - web sites) protest outside luxury leather goods maker Louis Vuitton's flagship store on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
Monday's demonstration was not meant as a criticism of Harvard, a PETA spokesman said. Rather, it came hours before PETA Vice President Dan Mathews, among those arrested, was due to address Harvard Professor Brian Palmer's popular "Personal Choice and Global Transformation" class.