Let The Protestors, Arrests Begin In Arizona. . .

Although U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton on Wednesday threw out some of the more controversial parts of SB 1070, temporarily blunting the new law’s impact, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at dawn to protest. They marched from the state Capitol and held a prayer vigil before moving on to the federal courthouse, where police in riot gear waited.

A protester shouts at a riot policeman before being arrested at a demonstration

A few hours later, demonstrators blocked downtown streets as they chanted, “Hey ho, hey ho, SB 1070 has got to go.” They also converged on the office of controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, yelling, “Sheriff Joe, we are here, we will not live in fear.”

Three people were arrested at the courthouse. At least eight protesters who approached a police line were taken into custody, as were two dozen others who sat down in the middle of a street and blocked traffic.
In Tucson, traffic on I-19 was briefly snarled after protesters threw tires, paint buckets and glass onto the roadway. One person was arrested.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat and outspoken opponent of the law, closed his Yuma office after staff discovered a window shattered by a bullet.

But in Santa Cruz County along the border with Mexico, Sheriff Tony Estrada said Thursday was just another day. “Business as usual. No problems. It would have been different if I had to be enforcing that 1070,” said Estradamore