Posted: Tuesday, 04 November 2008 9:22AM
Standoff Over Highway 101 Ends Peacefully
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One day before the presidential election, a man decides to make his political beliefs known by standing on a freeway overpass with a gun, a flag and a mask. Just after 7 yesterday morning, police received a report of a man who was acting erratically on the La Cumbre Road overpass above Highway 101 in Santa Barbara. Police shut down Highway 101 and after three hours of negotiations, the man agreed to put down his gun in exchange for a sign supporting Barack Obama. A bomb squad robot delivered the sign, then the man took his shoelaces off and hung the sign on the chain-link fence on the overpass. 28 year old Edward Van Tassel then put down the unloaded gun and surrendered to police. He was taken into custody just after 10:30. The Santa Barbara man is an Iraq War Veteran and police believe that the standoff was his anti-war demonstration. He is being charged with possession of a concealed firearm, possession of a dangerous weapon, conspiracy, delaying arrest, brandishing a firearm towards police officers, disturbing the peace, wearing a mask for the commission of a crime, among others.
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