Four people have been arrested near the Des Moines airport. They were blocking a road in protest of the Iowa Air National Guard’s program in which drones are piloted remotely from the airport's military air base.
Jesse Horne, Spencer Kaaz, Jessica Reznicek and Ruby Montoya are each charged with two misdemeanors: interference with official acts and disorderly conduct.
Activist Alex Cohen, who attended the protest, says this action is part of an ongoing campaign to oppose the drone program.
"Basically these drones are killing innocent women and children overseas and furthering waging wars on these other countries," says Cohen. "What they really wanted out of this action is to wake Des Moines up."
An email statement from an Iowa National Guard spokesman says most of the drone missions are to acquire intelligence and imagery on enemy combatants. One percent of the flight missions do involve artillery.