Who were those mystery women in the pink slips protesting Obama?

President Obama was greeted with wild applause and shouts of “We love you!” from thousands of adoring supporters as he took the stage at the Nob Hill Masonic Center on Thursday night. 

 

But then,  there were those two very vocal women in the pink slips lead away by the cops.

 

Chalk up another appearance by Nancy Mancias of CodePink – the women’s group opposed to the United States’ involvement in wars. She stood as Obama was speaking about killing Osama bin Laden and began protesting the administration’s use of drone attacks.

 


With her was another veteran CodePinker, Janine Boneparth, another veteran protester at Obama and political events.

 

“Drone attacks kill innocent civilians! There is no precision in drone attacks!” Mancias yelled as San Francisco police officers dragged her from the auditorium.

 

Both Mancias and Boneparth of San Francisco, along with other Code Pink members, have organized hundreds of disruptions at locations across the nation, from Republican national conventions to an air base outside Las Vegas.

 

From glitter bombing Tim Pawlenty in San Francisco for his stance against gay marriage to confronting former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in New York about the Iraq war, Mancias has become a champion of causes for some and an irritant for others.

 

Boneparth made national news in 2008 when she was escorted out of a Mortgage Bankers Association’s convention after attempting to handcuff Bush aide Karl Rove, who was speaking.

 

At the event on Thursday, they were speaking out against the government’s use of drones and fracking.

 

Booed by Obama supporters and laughed off by the president himself as part of San Francisco’s “fun,”  Mancias says her method of protesting is effective.

 

Indeed, she says glitter bombing Pawlenty was a particular moment of pride.

 

“It’s a great way of getting our message out,” she said. “We do petitions and lobbying campaigns also, but we wanted to escalate the issue a little more.”

 

Mancias gains access to the events through ticket donations from disgruntled citizens looking for her organization’s support on an issue.

 

“That was the case yesterday,” Mancias said, declining to give the name of the donor. “We were able to get seats donated for the main floor.”

 

By Carla Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle

 

 

Clad in the organization’s signature pink slip, she passed through security by covering it up and blending in to the crowd. On Thursday, her slip was tucked into her panties, she said.

 

Boneparth wore hers under a black dress.

 

“We come from a place of compassion,” Mancias said. “We find creative ways of bringing in our message.”

 

At many events, she said, officers remove Code Pink protesters, have them sign release of detainment forms, and escort them off the premises. That was the case on Thursday, when Mancias was handcuffed and removed, yelling, from Obama’s speech.

 

“They were nice to me,” she said, adding that that is not always the case. “One of the plainclothes officers asked if I would behave if he took the handcuffs off and I said, ‘I am behaving,’ and he told me to forget it.”

 

Sometimes, Mancias spends the night in jail.

 

At an event for Hillary Clinton about five years ago, also at the Masonic Center in San Francisco, she was escorted from the premises and taken to jail for the night.

 

No matter. Mancias said she will continue to protest despite the arrests, but declined to provide details of upcoming Code Pink activities.

 

“Just keep Code Pink on your radar,” she said, laughing.