DES MOINES (AP) — Authorities have arrested four people at a protest blocking access to the Iowa Air National Guard base at Des Moines International Airport.
Several of the 20 or so protesters left at police request Wednesday morning. The four who remained, connected to concrete barriers, were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and interference with official acts. Firefighters gave the four masks and other protection from debris as they were cut from the barriers.
A protest organizer who wasn’t arrested, Frank Cordaro, says protesters want the Air Guard unit to end its work of controlling military drone aircraft flying missions overseas.
A Guard spokesman, Col. Greg Hapgood, says the 132nd Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard remotely operates MQ-9 Reaper aircraft that mostly fly intelligence-gathering missions.