Rumsfeld out as trial witness in Ohio (war protesters occupied Rep. Chabot's office)

CINCINNATI - Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will not have to testify in the trial of five people who occupied a congressman's office to protest the war in Iraq, a judge ruled Friday.

Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge David Stockdale rejected a motion to declare Rumsfeld a witness so defense lawyers could argue that the protesters acted to save lives.

Such a "necessity defense" was unlikely to be viable in the Jan. 22 trial, the judge said.

The protesters were charged with criminal trespassing after the seven-hour sit-in Sept. 27 at the Cincinnati office of Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio. The protest was part of a national effort urging members of Congress to sign a "National Declaration of Peace."

Chabot was in Washington during the sit-in, and Rumsfeld wasn't anywhere near the Cincinnati office. Chabot's staff allowed the protest until they left work, then called police to have the protesters removed.

Two minors who participated in the sit-in were referred to Juvenile Court.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070112/ap_on_re_us/war_protesters