Protesters' Plan to Dump Tea Is Prohibited (and no rally permit)

There will be no tea-dumping in the Potomac River -- that's illegal -- but organizers of today's national tea party tax protest found out this morning that so is their plan to dump a million tea bags in Lafayette Square to demonstrate displeasure at government spending and tax policies. Protesters, using a rented truck to haul the million tea bags, began unloading their cargo at the park this morning but were told by officials that they didn't have proper permits and must move the tea . They complied with the order but are still considering what to do with the load.

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The protesters got more bad news this morning when security officials also told them that they did not have proper permits for a rally in front of the Treasury building. That noon-time protest had been expected to provide a national stage for speeches by such figures as Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform; former presidential candidate Alan Keyes; and Thomas A. Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste. But after the discussion with security officials, the protesters sent away the advance crew that was to set up risers and equipment for news crews.

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Wales said they are among 700 such rallies scheduled today across the country. "This is the largest grass-roots demonstration in history," she said. The events seek to emulate protests of the Revolutionary War era, in which ship cargoes of tea were dumped overboard by colonists chafing at British rule. Wales said protesters are angry at, among other things, government bailouts of industry, the economic stimulus package and congressional earmarks. "It runs the gamut," she said. "People really need to know what to do next," she said, adding that elections are "not that far away. People need to see that there are alternatives to this administration."