WASHINGTON (AP) - Activist Cindy Sheehan, who was invited to President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech, has been arrested, according to CNN. Sheehan, who was invited to attend the address by California's Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey, was reportedly already seated in the House chamber when she was detained, CNN said.
A Capitol police official reportedly said Sheehan had unfurled a banner, which is a violation of House rules.
Parents of fallen soldiers have been special guests at Bush's State of the Union speeches. But Sheehan was one invited guest he couldn't have been eager to see: Sheehan, gained international fame with her anti- war protest outside Bush's Texas ranch last year.
"I'm proud that Cindy's my guest tonight," Woolsey said in an interview before the speech, and reported arrest. "She has made a difference in the debate to bring our troops home from Iraq."
Sheehan's vigil in memory of her 24-year-old soldier son Casey, who was killed in Iraq, reinvigorated the anti-war movement. Woolsey had offered Sheehan a ticket to the speech as Sheehan attended an "alternative state of the union" press conference by CODEPINK, a group promoting the end of the Iraq war.
