07:23 PM CST on Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – War protester Cindy Sheehan and several others pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of demonstrating without a permit outside the White House.

The protesters, who face fines and not jail time, were being tried Wednesday afternoon by U.S. Magistrate Alan Kay after several hours of talks with court officials about how quickly their trial could be wrapped up.

Before the trial began, Ms. Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., announced plans to revive her protest near President Bush's Texas ranch during Thanksgiving week, despite new county ordinances banning roadside camping.

Ms. Sheehan and other anti-war activists arrested with her Sept. 26 in Washington conducted a news conference in front of the federal courthouse Wednesday before heading to a court appearance on the misdemeanor charge.

Ms. Sheehan, whose 24-year-old soldier son, Casey, was killed in Iraq last year, said "2,062 people have been killed as of today in this monstrosity."

She and more than 300 others were arrested as they gathered near an entrance to the White House grounds in the September protest. Each carried a board bearing the name of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq.

The arrests outside the White House concluded a weekend of protests that drew more than 100,000 anti-war activists and a smaller group of counterprotesters. It was the largest anti-war demonstration since the Vietnam War.