Monday, September 20, 2004
By Stockton
Grieving Mom Heckles Laura Bush, HAMILTON, N.J., Sept. 17, 2004
Two Mothers Mourn
Laura Bush speaking in Hamilton, N.J. (CBS/AP) A woman wearing a T-shirt with the words "President Bush You Killed My Son" and a picture of a soldier killed in Iraq was detained Thursday after she interrupted a campaign speech by first lady Laura Bush. Police escorted Sue Niederer of Hopewell, N.J., from a rally at a firehouse after she demanded to know why her son, Army 1st Lt. Seth Dvorin, 24, was killed in Iraq. Dvorin died in February while trying to disarm a bomb. As shouts of "Four More Years" subsided, Niederer, standing in the middle of a crowd of some 700, continued to shout about the killing of her son. When Bush mentioned the troops abroad, Niederer shouted, "When are yours going to serve?" referring to Bush's 22-year-old twin daughters, who aren't in the armed services. Last week, in an interview with CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin, Niederer said she sees her son's death as a waste.
Local police escorted Niederer out of the event, handcuffed her and placed her in the back of a police van. Outside the hall, she said she had a ticket and asked why she was being arrested. She was told by police she had entered a private event and had refused to leave, the Trenton Times reported. Niederer was later charged with defiant trespass and released. The charge could lead to a fine and a jail term of up to 60 days but jail time rarely results from such offenses, said a police spokesman. The first lady continued speaking, touting her husband's record on the economy, health care and the war on terror to those attending the rally in this suburban community of 90,000 people near Trenton.Event planners were ready for such a disruption, stationing volunteers like Karolina Zabawa, 20, in the crowd. "If anybody acts up, I just start chanting, 'Four more years!'" said Zabawa, a Drexel University student.
"That nut just doesn't understand," said Karolina Zabawa, when asked about Ms. Niederer. "Freedom isn't free. We all sacrifice for the war. Look at me, I'm missing a whole day of classes so I can shout down a Gold Star Mother."
