Traffic was clogged most seriously in the area surrounding George Washington University which was eventually cleared by a police sweep and sealed off for the day.
The highest number of arrests occurred in areas around Dupont Circle in northwest Washington, the Washington Memorial, and at George Washington.
At the Washington Monument, six huge Marine helicopters landed at about 9 a.m. and unloaded combat attired troops to secure the park.
A stream of 35 military police jeeps encircled Dupont Circle, where police scattered demonstrators and arrested them for jaywalking and walking against the traffic lights. Arrests were usually rough, and police brought in dogs to disperse bands of demonstrators on sidestreets.
Demonstrators trying to block the four main bridges leading to downtown Washington from Virginia were headed off by National Guardsmen and loaded into green vans resembling large horse trailers.
A Southern Christian Leadership Conference march on the Pentagon was foiled by police before it got under way at 6:30 a.m., but a small group of Vietnam Veterans Against the War reached the Pentagon and dumped 100 pounds of chicken manure on the steps of the building before being arrested.
Bystanders aided police in removing debris and abandoned cars causing traffic tie-ups, and some even chased fleeing demonstrators with attache cases and pieces of wood.
Army troops were momentarily deployed in the George Washington area at about 10 a.m., but were withdrawn when they began fraternizing with demonstrators and student bystanders.
Metropolitan police replaced the troops and soon surrounded the campus area. At 10:45 a.m., police moved in, using tear gas extensively and arresting all pedestrians who "appeared suspicious."
By noon, police had contained most of the trashing. Only a few serious injuries were reported, although police exercised little restraint in dealing with demonstrators. Police made arrests at random throughout the afternoon.
The concentration of police and troops here is staggering. Helicopters circle overhead throughout the day and most of the night, and police are visible at almost every street corner.
Arrests are wholesale and easy to come by-especially if you happen to look like a college student or an antiwar demonstrator. Yesterday, a 25-year-old man and his fiancee were arrested as they came out of a restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue. When police took them to the detention camp opposite RFK Stadium the couple decided that the end must be near. They proceeded to find a priest inside the camp, were fenced-in area covered by a canvas married, and designated a corner of the sheet as their "honeymoon Tent."
"Please do not disturb." a sign hung carefully on the tent said. However, in the police state imposed here yesterday, the chances for peace and quiet are slim indeed.