It’s been a busy week for the Olympia protesters. They have been pouring concrete on train tracks, assaulting photographers and dropping their children on their faces. All in a days work.

Some of the same crowd came up to Tacoma Mall on Thursday to protest the existence of an Army Recruiting Station. As usual, they were organized by a communist front group, in this case Socialist Alternative.

Gotta love the “Smash Capitalism” sign on the right.

They had some catchy new chants as well:

They’re our brothers!

They’re our sisters!

We support,

War resisters!

Hey recruiters!

We’re no fools!

Get your lies,

Out of our schools!

Not another nickel!

Not another dime!

No more money,

For U.S. crimes!

The Marine recruiters acted first class, even under fire. This guy was jabbing his fingers in a Marine’s chest while heatedly making his point, whatever it was. He was later arrested for refusing to step away and allow the door to be closed to the recruiting station. He was repeatedly (5 times) given the choice to calm down and step away, but he refused. It took a while, but his persistence was finally paid off and he got his “Don’t tase me bro!” moment in the spotlight. An officer that I talked to shrugged and simply said “He made his choice.”

One of the speakers. Note the Socialist Alternative labeling on the megaphone. I wonder if it is tax deductible?

This fellow and his side-kick Jennifer were asked to give their update on the Port of Olympia protests that they had been involved in. She complained about how awfully they were treated when they were arrested. How DARE the police treat them like seditious punks! Or something like that. I might have been a little more sympathetic of her plight if she hadn’t sounded so totally excited about it all. She talks about how they have “successfully blocked” several shipments, and recommends eye protection and bandannas around your face. Useful advice from someone with experience in these matters.

These people use the media well. I heard one of the organizers preparing the crowd for the “Live at 5:00″ broadcast that was coming up. When I mentioned this to one of the crew he chuckled and said that at 5:03 they would all be gone. He wasn’t far off, actually.

It was an official protest, because they had drums.

Fortunately, a military family came out to support the troops. Semper Fi.

The full gallery of pictures can be found here.