Members of Congress, Greenpeace Protesters Arrested

Protesters hang from a Greenpeace banner which was suspended from a construction crane near the State Department this morning. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A couple of breaking reports of multiple arrests at separate and unrelated protest sites in Washington this morning. The higher profile incident includes the apparent detention of five U.S. lawmakers, including Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass), John Lewis (D-Ga.), Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.). The lawmakers were arrested outside the Sudanese Embassy (2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW) here in Washington, after they allegedly crossed a police line at a protest against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's decision to expel aid agencies from Darfur.

The other arrests were the result of Greenpeace's risky protest that involved unfurling a giant banner and dangling from a construction site crane. Seven Greenpeace protesters were arrested at the site, near the State Dept.