TUCSON — Charges have been dropped against the "Raging Grannies," five women accused of trespassing after they tried to enlist at a military recruitment center to protest the war in Iraq, a city prosecutor said.

Tucson's Raging Grannies

The five women tried to enlist on July 13, saying they wanted to go to Iraq so their children and grandchildren could come home. Recruiters called police.

Their group, dubbed the "Tucson Raging Grannies," includes members ranging in age from 65 to 81 — decades older than the maximum age for recruits. They have protested at the center every week for three years.

City Prosecutor Laura Brynwood said Friday the trespassing charges were dropped earlier this month because they would have been difficult to prove.

"Essentially, by the time the police arrived, 10 minutes after the initial call, they had already left and were back at their protest on the sidewalk," Brynwood said. "Proving they did not leave after they were requested to leave would be difficult."

A spokeswoman for the group cheered the decision. "We were naturally quite relieved because the charges were absurd in the beginning," said Patricia Birnie.

Birnie said the group will continue to protest outside the recruitment center "until there is no longer a need to be there." But trying to enlist again is not in their immediate plans.

Nancy Hutchinson, spokeswoman at the Army recruiting headquarters in Phoenix, has said people who disagree with the war should be contacting their legislators instead of bothering recruiters.

© Copyright 2005 Associated Press

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