DISTRICT BRIEFING

THE MALL

---

Protesters Gather for March

---

Several thousand antiwar demonstrators are expected to attend a rally and march today in the vicinity of the Capitol Reflecting Pool at the east end of the Mall.

The protesters, part of the Troops Out Now Coalition, are planning to gather at an encampment by the pool in the morning and begin the march about 1 p.m. Organizers said they plan to demonstrate at the headquarters of government agencies near the Capitol and return to the encampment along Third Street NW about 3 p.m.

Police said there could be rolling street closures in the neighborhood throughout the afternoon. The National Book Festival also unfolds on the Mall today.

-- Michael E. Ruane

GEORGETOWN

---

Student Charged in Assault

---

A Georgetown University sophomore has been charged with assaulting another student in an incident that was flagged as a potential hate crime by the D.C. police Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit.

Philip Cooney, 19, a student at Georgetown's business school, was arrested Thursday on an assault charge stemming from the incident early Sept. 9.

According to the arrest warrant, the victim was walking along the 1400 block of 36th Street NW when he was called anti-gay names, tackled and punched repeatedly.

Cooney was identified from pictures he had posted on his profile at Facebook.com, the social networking Web site, the arrest warrant said. He was charged with simple assault, a crime carrying a jail term of up to 180 days. If the incident is treated as a hate crime, the penalty could increase to 270 days.