More than 200 marchers protesting U.S. military action in Afghanistan blocked afternoon rush-hour traffic in downtown Hartford Thursday, before police used batons and pepper spray to arrest 16 demonstrators.

Chanting "This is not a police state!" the mostly college-age protesters moved down the middle of Main and State streets toward the Founders Bridge, before being stopped by police in front of Constitution Plaza on Market Street, where growing tensions between the
marchers and police erupted.

Police, who had not been notified of the marchers' plans, used bicycles and several cruisers to try to keep the protesters off the street, but the crowd continued to move in the path of traffic.

The protest started in Bushnell Park about 4:30 p.m. with speeches and skits by college students and representatives of peace organizations from throughout the state.

By 5 p.m., the crowd had swelled to more than 200, and they quickly took to the street, waving an upside-down American flag and a flag with the peace symbol on it. They marched from the park through downtown to the area near Constitution Plaza.

The march organizers, who represent several Connecticut university and state peace organizations, did not have a permit to use the city streets, police said.

Police escorted three protesters from the sidewalk to an awaiting police van, but another resisted by dropping to his knees and hugging the base of a lamppost.  Several officers moved in and, using batons and pepper spray, tried to pull him up. Other protesters jeered at the
police, shouting "Shame! Shame!" as the man on the ground curled up at the lamppost base with blood on his head.

"I have asthma! I have asthma!" the man, identified by other protesters as Vittorio Lancia of Portland, shouted before police took him into the van. Lancia's face was covered in the stinging orange spray, and the burst from the spray can spread to other protesters as well.

"It stings a lot, but I'll be OK," said Tom Deere, a Yale University student from Arkansas about the red ring around his neck that he said was caused by pepper spray. He also showed a cut on his arm that he said was caused by a police baton.  Police Capt. Michael Fallon, who supervised the police response, declined to comment Thursday night.

A bus carrying more than a dozen officers dressed in riot gear arrived soon after the arrests began, and officers wearing helmets with visors tried to get the crowd to move on.

The protesters gathered at the public square next to the Old State House and later, about 40 of them went to Hartford police headquarters on Jennings Road to show support for those arrested.  After the arrests, police closed the block of Market Street in front of Constitution Plaza to all car and pedestrian traffic after they found a suspicious package on the sidewalk. It was later found to be harmless.

As police stood in formation in front of the square, several officers quickly descended on the crowd and took one of the protesters into custody. Over the crowd's objections, police explained that the protester, identified as Wesleyan University student Adam Hurter, would be charged with conspiracy to incite a riot.

"This is ridiculous," said Julia Rosenblatt of Hartford, who earlier had performed in a skit in Bushnell Park comparing President Bush with Osama bin Laden.  In the park, Sage Radachowski, 28, from the University of Connecticut, said he showed up to help the American
public understand how the country's foreign policies contributed to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He was later arrested.

"People in the Middle East don't hate us because we stand for freedom and democracy," he said. "They hate us because we have been bombing and killing their people for years."

Eating a falafel sandwich, Radachowski, a Danbury native, said he believes the American people need to be more aware of the country's history of military intervention in the Third World.

"Sometimes it's scary because so many people are so hostile to the truth, but I think more people are beginning to understand," he said.

Before the protest began, two Hartford police bicycle officers approached a handful of organizers in the park to ask them if they had planned a route for their march.

"All we know is we have a right to assemble," answered one of the organizers, who identified himself as an upstate New York resident named Lightningheart.  As the marchers moved from Bushnell Park toward Main Street, they were met with differing reactions from
pedestrians and other observers.

"It reminds me of when I was a student back in 1969," said Margie Kreitler of Hartford, who was walking her dog on Gold Street. "College kids have a lot of idealism and a lot of naivete."

The march didn't sit well with others, including Brian Baldyga of East Longmeadow, Mass., who was in town on business.

"They should learn that America's not the problem," he said. "We're not the ones flying planes into buildings full of innocent people. You can't deal with these people in a civilized way. You have to use the military."

When the marchers moved past a restaurant on Trumbull Street, protester Jessie Duvall, a Wesleyan student from California, offered a flier to some of the staff standing in front.

"You better get away from me with that," one staff member told her. "This is a free country and you can have your point of view. But it offends me to see these people bad-mouthing the country at a time like this."

At 9 p.m., police were still booking those arrested and did not provide their names. Police said all of those arrested were being held overnight on bail ranging from $15,000 to $25,000 before appearing this morning in Hartford Superior Court. Charges ranged from misdemeanor disorderly conduct to inciting a riot, a felony.