Scores arrested at anti-war protests and direct actions across the country

Protesters danced in the streets of downtown Washington, acted out a Baghdad street scene in Syracuse, N.Y., and gave out "unhappy birthday cake" in San Francisco to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

More than 60 people were arrested, mostly at a Wednesday morning protest at the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington and at the Syracuse demonstration.

Events were held around the country calling for an end to the war. In Syracuse, police arrested 20 protesters who blocked traffic by creating a mock Baghdad street scene. One person dressed in camouflage lay on the ground. Another was covered in a white sheet with red markings and a woman leaned over as if grieving. They were from a group of more than 100 demonstrators who marched downtown in a steady rain over the lunch hour.

In Chicopee, Mass., eight people were arrested when they blocked a gate at Westover Air Reserve Base, police said. Capt. John Muraski said most of the six women and two men are retirees over 60.

Five people were arrested In Hartford, Conn., for blocking the front door of a federal courthouse.

On the West Coast, police arrested a handful of protesters outside of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, police Sgt. Steve Manina said. The bank protest was one of several planned in the area.

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