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New York (dpa) - Eighteen grandmothers who were charged with disorderly conduct during protests against the US-led war in Iraq were acquitted by a judge who said police wrongly arrested them last year, news reports said Friday.
Judge Neil E. Ross of the Manhattan Criminal Court late Thursday acquitted the women after finding that their protest last October at a US recruitment centre in New York's Times Square did not prevent US Marines recruiters from performing their duties.
The trial lasted six days, however, with the 18 grandmothers, aged 59 to 91, attending the sessions under the glare of camera lights. One is legally blind, one is supported by a walker and many others use canes to move around.
The grandmothers formed a "Granny Peace Brigade" after they were arrested, handcuffed and spent four-and-a-half hours in a New York police jail last October. They were charged with blocking the entrance to the recruitment centre. Judge Ross disagreed.
During the trial, the grannies sat by the judge in the jury box to help them hear and see better.
News reports said the grannies let out a collective "Oh!" when the judge said, "The defendants are all dismissed." They hugged before leaving the court room.
"Listen to your granny, she knows best," defendant Joan Wile, 74, told the crowd after the dismissal. She is a retired cabaret singer and a jingle writer.
Outside the court room, the grannies sang an anthem adopted by them, entitled "God Help America," which was written by Kay Sather, an anti-war protester from the group called The Raging Grannies. It goes as follows:
"God help America. We need you bad, 'cause our leaders are cheaters, and they're making the world really mad."
Copyright 2006 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
