A militant crowd of about 10,000 marched through the streets of downtown Washington, D.C. The rally and march drew participants from the Midwest, South and East Coast, including organized transportation from over 50 cities in 20 states, from cities as far as Chicago, Bangor, Maine and St. Petersburg, Florida. The march stopped at several significant locations, including the Halliburton office, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, the Washington Post, and the Mortgage Bankers Association building. Marchers carried coffins draped in flags representing the victims of U.S. aggression, including those of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen and the United States. At each stop along the route, they held short rallies, chanted, and left coffins. A contingent of Korean drummers electrified the militant crowd…..The rally before the march included several speakers, including Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of Muslim American Society Freedom; Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition; former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark; Eddie Pages, a veteran with March Forward!; Cindy Sheehan; Mike Ferner, President of Veterans for Peace; Geoff Millard, Chair of National Directors of the Iraq Veterans Against the War; Mara Verheyden-Hilliard of the Partnership for Civil Justice; and Mounzer Sleiman, Vice Chair of National Council of Arab Americans.
A US Park Police officer on the route estimated the crowd as about 2,500.
The MAS was identified in a recent Hudson Institute report as a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and closely tied to the Egyptian organization. ANSWER, in turn, was the creation of former attorney general Ramsey Clark and his International Action Center and has its roots in the far left Workers World Party. The MAS has participated in events along side ANSWER since 2003 and it is common for Muslim Brotherhood groups in the US and Europe to be found in coalitions with leftwing and far left political groups who also support Palestinian causes.