Perhaps more remarkable than the severe reaction to an intransigent dancer is how quickly her friends settled on a division of labor after the arrest. Five or six would travel to the station to await her release; the rest pulled out their cell phones and began sending Twitters, e-mails, and photographs to friends at home. Dozens of blogs soon linked accounts of the arrest, and one outraged reader in Wisconsin has even posted a call on Craigslist for others to repeat the dance party next weekend in protest. If charges are not dismissed before a scheduled April 29 court date -- since the incident occurred on federal property, the case will be handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office -- the video and photos of the arrest are likely to figure in [Brooke] Oberwetter's defense.

Sgt. Robert Lachance, a spokesman for the United States Park Police, explains that this charge includes the failure to obey a lawful order by a park officer, and quotes from the arrest report, which referred to "one subject" who "did not comply with multiple requests to leave the area." As for the dance party itself, Lachance notes that federal regulations designate certain areas that are "meant to be tranquil and quiet," including the inner chamber of the Jefferson Memorial. That precludes making too much noise -- signs at the Memorial enjoin quiet -- or any behavior that "has a propensity to draw a crowd of onlookers."