I saw this video earlier today showing Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. of the grassroots organization Hip Hop Caucus (H2C) being arrested outside the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill. Rev. Yearwood was waiting in line to hear testimony given by General Petreaus regarding the war in Iraq.

More from firedoglake:

Capitol Hill Police “football tackled” Hip Hop Activist who was in line to enter hearing room for General Petreus’ testimony on Capitol Hill.

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., president of the Hip Hop Caucus, was attacked by six capitol police today, when he was stopped from entering the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill, where General Petreaus gave testimony today to a joint hearing for the House Arms Services Committee and Foreign Relations Committee on the war in Iraq.

After waiting in line throughout the morning for the hearing that was scheduled to start at 12:30pm, Rev. Yearwood was stopped from entering the room, while others behind him were allowed to enter. He told the officers blocking his ability to enter the room, that he was waiting in line with everyone else and had the right to enter as well. When they threatened him with arrest he responded with “I will not be arrested today.” According to witnesses, six capitol police, without warning, “football tackled him. He was carried off in a wheel chair by DC Fire and Emergency to George Washington Hospital.

Rev. Yearwood was examined for possible head and leg injuries then transferred to Central Processing. He has been charged with “assaulting a police officer.”

Rev. Yearwood said as he was being released from the hospital to be taken to central booking, “The officers decided I was not going to get in Gen. Petreaus’ hearing when they saw my button, which says ‘I LOVE THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ.’”

I’ve seen this video a couple of times now and I honestly cannot say I see any form of physical resistance nor physical assault on the part of Rev. Yearwood. I am in fact reminded of a “recent” incident at UCLA (see the video) where police ended up causing bodily harm to an individual who was in no way physically threatening the officers. In particular, after the student had been tased and was lying helpless on the ground shrieking in agony, the officer repeated “stop resisting” and tased the student again.