It can happen in Arlington!

Protesters arrested at GOP fundraiser

Arlington: 2 accused of throwing hard candy; they deny the charges

12:00 AM CST on Sunday, November 13, 2005

By JAY PARSONS / The Dallas Morning News

Two war protesters were arrested at a Republican fundraiser in Arlington on Friday night, accused of throwing candy at partygoers. The candy came attached to a message: "Don't be a sucker for the GOP."

The women denied the charges.

Police cited Hillary Timmers and an unidentified woman with provocative contact assault, a Class C misdemeanor. The two, and a third woman, were also charged with criminal trespassing.

The incident started when a Fort Worth woman, Beatriz Saldivar, objected to a pro-war speech at the fundraiser, at the Wyndham Arlington.

Ms. Saldivar's nephew, Sgt. Daniel Torres, was killed in the Iraq war in February. She said she was a registered Republican who bought a $50 ticket to the event, where Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, was scheduled to speak. She said she held up pictures of Sgt. Torres' mother and infant daughter.

"All these Republicans jumped at me and assaulted me," Ms. Saldivar said.

"They grabbed my purse, grabbed my phone. They looked for my ID. I kept holding my pictures. They kept saying I'm not a Republican, but I said, 'I'm a Republican, and I'm against this war.' "

An Arlington police officer took Ms. Saldivar outside the hotel ballroom, where three of her friends were protesting. Those three women then entered the fundraiser, waited through a singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner," and started chanting, "We don't want your dirty war machine."

Police and the protesters disagree about what happened next. Arlington police Lt. Will Johnson said two of the three women began throwing hard candy.

Ms. Timmers of Fort Worth said the candy fell out of another woman's purse when partygoers tried to grab them.

No injuries were reported, and police released the women without taking them to jail.

E-mail jparsons@dallasnews.com