Charges dismissed against protesters

CRAWFORD, Texas — A judge on Friday dismissed all charges against five anti-war activists who were arrested last year on their way to President Bush’s ranch.

The five were convicted in February of violating the city’s protest ordinance and fined $200 to $500. But McLennan County Judge Tom Ragland ruled the ordinance was overly broad and violated the First Amendment.

The five protesters were on their way from Austin to President Bush’s ranch to protest the war in Iraq in May 2003 when they were arrested and put in jail overnight.